Pandemonium
by Equinox121
Summary: Lily leaves the comfort of a St. Mungo's job to join the Aurors, James is consumed by the regret of his last meeting with his brother, Rose wallows in bitterness, Cynthia continues to search for redemption, Nigel is haunted by the ghost of his uncle and Harry James Potter battles his inner demons. Albus's absence unleashes pandemonium on those he left behind. Sequel to 'Falling'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here comes the sequel! The formatting will be a little bit different from 'Falling.' Instead of long chapters, which were originally intended to be part of a giant oneshot, this story will consist of many little snippets. They will eventually coalesce around a larger story dealing with the aftermath of 'Falling.'**

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Her frame, cuddling in his arms, his eyes upon her eyes, green on blue, his lips caressing her skin, their hands clutched tightly together, the smell of her enveloping him into a state of splendid stupor, light lavender, the scent of her favorite perfume, melded with the smell of her skin. He inhaled his surroundings, basking in the sweet scent of the past. Tussling between euphoria and melancholic dread, he remained the prisoner of his own thoughts.

"You know you regret leaving me, don't lie Albus…" A murmuring voice has invaded his mind, leaving little room for rebuttal left, right or centre. It was suffocating his sense of reason.

"Have I ever left you?" He whispered quietly. "After all, I'm still here, you're still here. Here, in my mind, where things are exactly the way we would have wanted…"

"The way you would have wanted," she corrected him as she sunk her teeth into his neck, hands reaching further down his body. He moaned in response. "I… I wanted something bigger for us! Us!"

The scene around them shifted and all of a sudden, they were no longer in their bed sheets. The sound of drums pounding, trumpets blasting, voices screeching. And there they were, on top of it all, watching over all of it from their thrones. His hand on her hand; their lips were locked too. Voices begging them, begging them to be spared. For a moment he felt almost gleeful, as if a bestial urge had been awakened, he knew exactly what to do, raising his wand — no. He waved his hand and they vanished.

They were now alone in the dark, the sole objects of illumination.

"If only I could forget about you-"

"Don't lie to me Albus! This is what you would have wanted! This is what we would have wanted! We could have had the whole world to us, we could have been together we could have started a family-"

Two children, a boy and a girl, both dark haired and blue-eyed, flash before his eyes, grinning cheekily. They seemed to be calling to him.

"- we could have been happy! You could have been happy-"

"Enough!" He yelled as he woke up panting again, drenched in sweat.

It was all too much, all too repetitive. Four years. It had been four years and he still can't forget it all. Always her, always them. The shame, the shame!

"Fucking bitch…" He murmured as he shaved in front of the bathroom mirror. Still lean and fit, honed by years of constant training and action, he wasn't all that bad superficially. Yet upon closer inspection, he was pale and pathetic, with his blood-shot eyes and dark circles. Like a ghost: teetering between the realm of life and death. He sighed; he might as well have been a ghost. One of the most elusive figures in the Wizarding World right now, he made himself known only when he wished to. (Anyone else who crossed his path was disposed with… in a friendly manner that involved memory erasure, of course… He was in no mood to disturb his already precarious state of being.) He had been highly sought after, by Aurors, rich aristocrats, shady organizations alike. Standing on no one's side, however, he was able to maximize his earnings, his life based on contract after contract. There was something hedonistically exciting about it.

Only yesterday, he had helped a wealthy Chinese businessman eliminate hitmen sent by his rivals. Their bodies were clinically dissolved with the correct potion, never to be seen or heard again. Many Galleons followed, as well as goodwill. The man had even offered him his own pick of 'dancers' but Albus Severus Potter had politely declined.

He had to himself a day of rest, in theory — and yet he knew that for men like him, rest was a fantasy, dangling seductively in front of him, always inching away as he seemingly drew closer. "Another day, another dawn…" The words sounded almost like a joke as he headed straight into the shower. It would never cleanse him the way he wished it would.

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**A/N: There's more to come!**

**Up next are James and Lily's lives!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Another snippet is good to go! **

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"Merlin's beard! I still can't fathom why anyone of sound mind, especially you, would even entertain the idea of joining the Aurors..." James sighed as he chewed another toffee sweet from the giant tub on the table. He was a doting parent with a penchant for sweets anyway and after Neil and Andromeda's incessant begging, he figured it was time to put an end to Claire anti-sugar reign of terror among the household. "You know what it does to people, look at what it did to Albus... Insane..." His face was a curious amalgamation of a man satisfied by the fleeting comfort of toffee and a brother treading on a past of painful memories. "I still..."

"James, I've told you many times, I've made my decision. There was nothing that you or father or anyone could have done to deter me," Lily interjected her brother resolutely, aiming to suffocate any hope of a last-minute u-turn from her brother. "I start tomorrow."

"But switching from a well-paid, stable, safe job at St. Mungo's? —"

"There must always be a Potter at the Auror's—"

"Hey, dad's still got a few years in him—"

"And what after that?! Who will be their to—"

"Lily, I don't want to presume I know better—"

"You're going to have to try harder to convey that—"

"—But you're still young, your whole life is ahead of you. There's still time to—"

"I'm 31 years old James — hardly the youngest person in the world, but with a reasonable future ahead of me, one that I would like to dictate myself. James, I've spent the past ten years treating people afflicted by vicious curses and evil magic, I've watched my very own brother — your brother too — succumb to the dark, I've lost friends and lovers alike. And I'm done loitering amongst the halls of St. Mungo's. It simply isn't the life for me... I feel a visceral need to be out there, to do something. Surely, you would have done the same if, if you're not a father yourself — and in need to the bountiful sort of income provided by a lifeless, soulless career in banking." Lily smirked as she witnessed James' visible irritation. He appeared resigned by her resolve. "I know it won't be easy, if the training is any indication. I don't need you to lecture me about it. All I ask is that you understand and respect my decision."

"You know Lily, I don't doubt your capabilities. But the thing about older brothers is that they never stop worrying about their baby siblings," James uttered with a small grimace. "It's instinctual."

He reached out and patted her head in a supremely patronizing manner designed to inflict maximum annoyance. His lips curved into a mischievous grin as she responded accordingly.

"Stopppp — I thought we were done with such childish antics!" Lily shouted a little too loudly.

"JAMES ARE YOU BEING A PRICK AGAIN?!" Claire Potter bellowed all the way from the nursery. She had been looking after their 6-month old twins Annabelle and Lucas, neither of whom seemed capable of following a coherent sleep schedule. Hence the enhanced grumpiness.

"It's nothing Claire! Just sibling things!" He defended himself as Claire strode out into the common room.

"Is he bothering you?" Claire asked.

"Only by being himself," Lily remarked wryly.

"Oh I can sympathize. Honey, as per what we concurred before, I'm going back to work tomorrow and you will take a 6-month break to look after the kids. No, don't make that face, we agreed to this 10 years ago remember? We agreed to have three kids and divide the parenting evenly. Don't make that face."

"I know, I know, I know, that's why I'm er... Okay technically, we've got four of them, which means double the workload for me! I know it's not exactly your fault that there's two instead of one on our third try but—"

"Don't even use that as an excuse!"

"I know, I know, I know. By the way, do you have any idea where Andromeda's crayons are? She was crying over them earlier... I only managed to placate her by bringing her to Rose for a play date with Terrence — don't look at me like that Claire! It makes me feel like I'm actually guilty—"

"You know, Mimsy would be helping you, right? There's always my mom, my dad, your mom, your grandparents. Rose has volunteered to accommodate you from time to time when she's off work. You'll survive."

"Woe is me why did I ever agree to this?"

"I love you," Claire said before pecking him on the forehead.

"I'm home!" A voice piped outside as someone began banging on the door vigorously.

"Isn't it little Nigel? Come to Auntie!" Lily lifted Nigel up into her arms, put him down and began pinching his cheeks.

"Ow." Nigel pouted, exasperated by the coddling. "Mum, dad, I accidentally bought Andie's crayons with me when I was at Jared's house. They're lame."

"Nigel, don't say that!" Claire shook her head.

"I've been looking for them for ages! Thank Merlin!" James gasped in relief.

"Oops."

"Dad you suck," Nigel remarked and stuck his tongue out.

"Hey! —"

Lily burst out laughing. "Early teenage rebellion am I right?"

"I'm almost eleven!" Nigel said.

"Where's the _teen_ in that?"

"Whatever, I'm almost old enough for Hogwarts!" Nigel grinned as he grabbed a handful of candy from the table.

In the midst of this playful annoyance, James glanced at his oldest son wistfully. It was about time that Nigel received his Hogwarts letter and embarked on another milestone in life. He had been at loggerheads with his wife as to which house their son would get sorted in. Claire insisted that her's — Slytherin — would suit mischievous little Nigel perfectly, while he emphasized the kid's bravado and gallantry around friends, as well as the Potter and Weasley family's long-standing history on producing good Gryffindor stock. (None of them mentioned his brother. It was proper etiquette.)

It was impossible to placate her brother, Lily understood that. In truth, she really did sympathize with his sentiments. He already lost one sibling; he did not want to lose another. Her parents too, were slightly apprehensive when she announced the decision. Harry Potter himself gave nominal approval, but it was tempered with lukewarm skepticism. Still, she passed the interview and qualifying exams with flying colours. With the Auror department in need of individuals possessing a medical background, there was really no reason for them to turn her down.

There were times in life when one had to bear with family members not being 100% on board with what you are doing. Lily can take that. She knew this was exactly what she wanted.

And yet when gazing at the vivacity around her, the sound of her nephew running around with glee, Claire laughing as she slapped James playfully, a tinge of envy brushed past Lily's mind. A stable, normal family life — it seemed that James was the only one of the three siblings that managed it.

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**A/N: Lily's motivations in joining the Auror's will be explored further later.**

**Please leave any thoughts or comments in the reviews! **

**Next up — I'm working on both Nigel's thoughts on starting Hogwarts and his last meeting with Albus, as well as happenings around the Auror department (Lily's first day). Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

Recalling it was like recalling the memory of a ghost.

It was early in the morning and his stomach was rumbling. But that wasn't what prompted him to leave his blankets. It was the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Still drowsy from his early slumber, Nigel trudged towards the source, prickling with curiosity. His Uncle was getting ready to leave, surreptitiously, without bidding any of them goodbye. Nowadays, it occurred to Nigel that the man must have been hiding something important (or something murky), but back then all that struck him was curiosity.

Albus was his favourite - and only - uncle who took him out to ice cream, who constantly riled dad with jokes, who drew awe and admiration amongst his colleagues, who never bored Nigel with a single mundane story, who doted on him by demonstrating fun spells, who seemed to unveil a whole new enigmatic world before him...

Anyhow, his father refused disclose any details of what transpired afterwards, though Nigel suspected things did not end well. For a while, simply mentioning 'Uncle Alby' drew dark looks from mother and father, moments of pain and retrospection emanating an ambience so uncomfortable that Nigel simply learned to stop saying that name altogether. Soon, life went on as it always did, his sister was born, his cousin was born, he went to kindergarten and then primary school, he had his first fight and then his first 'kiss' in a sandpit and it was as if nothing had happened at all.

No more pictures, no more talk of the name in any family scenario (especially not in front of grandpa Harry) - it was as if the man did not exist. As he began the usual routine of hugging every single other member of his ginormous family on Platform 9 and 3/4, Nigel couldn't help but wonder.

And yet, all this time, he knew his uncle was out there somewhere in the wide wide world. Albus had confirmed it when they last saw each other, hadn't he?

There were times small, flickering guilty sentiments would flare within him, when he wished his uncle would have taken him along. They could traverse jungles, deserts, safaris and megacities together. It would certainly be more preferable than school, where the bleak bleating of some monotonous voice made Nigel want to explode. His parents had said Hogwarts, where he would finally get to learn proper magic, would be much better, but he wasn't 100% convinced.

Couldn't Uncle Albus simply teach him magic instead? Nigel pondered as he waved goodbye to his parents, stepping onto the Hogwarts Express. Just what did the future have in stall for him?


	4. Chapter 4

"Name?"

"Cynthia Lang?"

"Age?"

"29."

"Position?"

"… Junior Auror."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." She was getting mildly exasperated because she was really not in the mood to delve into a 10 minute explanation about her current status in the Auror department. Temporarily suspended from duty — and demoted — and now on her first day back, she simply wanted a clean start. Two years of recuperations, therapy and meditations mandated by her imperious parents, of frustratingly waiting by the side lines, of bad dreams. It was all over now. It didn't matter if the clerk in front of her was questioning the veracity of her claims; she had the right documents anyway. "Thank you, Sir."

"You're assigned to a team with … Tobias Jenson, Morrison Wilders, Neil Nott and Lily Potter-"

"The hell-"

~X~

"Head Auror Potter, are you sure this is the best idea?" Director Thomas MacLaggen strode through the room in an agitated manner, much to the vexation of Director Thunberg, whose robes were periodically traversed over against his will.

"I must concur with Director MacLaggen. I, too, have reservations about this team arrangement," Director Thunberg said with a sigh.

"See? We agree on something after all!" Thomas' hands gestured with relief.

"My decision on this matter is final, gentlemen." Sighing, Harry Potter stood up from his seat. "In spite of her past mistakes, Cynthia Lang is an exemplary Auror. My daughter-" MacLaggen and Thunberg shot each other sceptical views "-she's a good healer, a necessary function of every team. Morrison Wilders possesses a photographic memory, important during investigations. Neil Nott has consistently received positive feedback from his superiors and his record so far gives good reason for promotion to Team Captain. And Tobias-"

"Has a record of ...instability-"

"-which has not manifested itself in years, years. This team would balance each other out." The last few words were laced with a resolution that wold have no part to being challenged. Director Thunberg appeared mildly peeved at being cut off.

Nonetheless, Thomas had to conclude that the Head Auror had, in the process, applied rather dubious logic and assumptions. "I'm not sure I would agree with your assessment, Sir. I urge you to revisit this decision."

"Neil Nott's brother was suspected of collaboration with neo-Death Eaters, as are many of his other family members. His background gives grounds for worry," Director Thunberg bluntly stated.

"Thunberg, there's no evidence that Lawrence Nott was ever a sympathizer. Believe me, I have my sources," Harry shot him down.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"But, Lawrence Nott was also suspected of being in contact with Al-"

"Enough," Harry interjected. Thomas could sense that tensions were on the verge of boiling over; the other two members of the room were slowly doing away with their attempts to hide their disdain for each other's judgement. Then, he thought, the man in front of him, the once saviour of the Wizarding World, appeared almost forlorn and tired. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I have taken both your reservations into account and will be keeping an eye on the team. Should it transpire to be a poor arrangement, interventions can be taken. Gentlemen, you are dismissed."

Director Thunberg got up, gave a polite nod and strode out of the door.

Thomas was about to follow him out before Harry stopped him: "Thomas, I want a word with you please."

He turned around.

"I know you were well acquainted with Cynthia Lang. I also know that since... the incident" - both of them appeared rather uncomfortable, preferring to leave certain things conveniently unsaid - "you two have stopped corresponding as much." A twitch of guilt flared inside Thomas: he had indeed tried to leave behind all his associations with his earlier team. Things were better that way, best not to get stuck in the past. People needed to move on, what happened was unfortunate, but what else was there to do? "However," Harry continued, "it's never to late to talk again. I'd like you to keep an eye on her. Understood?"

Thomas nodded as Harry breathed a sigh of resignation.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed this!**

**I know the chapters right now are still relatively fragmented and unrelated, but I promise it will all come together! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Morrison Wilders' jaw dropped when he saw his group leader enter the room. "No FUCKING way... you really did end up in the Auror department!"

"… Yes. Name's Neil Nott. From now on I'll be the leading Auror for your unit." The guy — with his short, curly brown hair, brown eyes and mildly presumptuous, know-it-all voice — reached out his hand. Morrison took it.

"I mean, I always thought you would end up being a professional Quidditch player. I mean, you were accepted by Puddlemore United — people thought you were kidding when you went to join the Aurors-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot. What can I say, some things just happen," Neil answered vexedly, drily, striving to not roll his eyes. He seemed used to this kind of remark.

"Well I'd say being a Seeker for Puddlemore United would be infinitely more cooler. Just saying, I have a friend whose on the professional Quidditch route and they get lit parties all the time-"

"As they say, Morrison — is your name Morrison? — it's not about the glitz and the glam here. We Aurors exist to serve the public good. Now—"

"No FUCKING way!"

"Hey! What-" Neil's eyebrows twitched. He was about to protest about being interrupted before he realized what Morrison's (short) attention was directed at.

"Sup, my name's Lily. Lily Luna Potter. Pleased to meet you guys. I'm new."

"Welcome to our team Lily," Neil greeted her with another handshake. "I believe we may have met before. You know, when we totally kicked Gryffindor's ass in Quidditch."

"Right, right, you're the guy that could've gotten into Puddlemore. I remember. Oh, and your brother knew my brother."

"Mhm…" The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward around them. Everyone knew what happened to Lily's brother — Albus Severus Potter, the once golden boy who was sure to follow his father's footsteps in becoming an accomplished Auror, the man in the midst of the prominent and yet obscure incident 4 years ago, when the nascent Sons of Walpurgis were nipped in the bud, the world's most wanted wizard.

"My name is Morrison Wilders," Morrison decided to interrupt the silence. "I'm 19 so a bit of a youngster. Went to Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, specialized in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and History of Magic. I also have a twin brother who is a lawyer and a twat."

"Cool," Neil said, sounding dismissively amused.

There was a polite knock on the door and a tall, skinny, gangly guy with sandy hair walked in. He smiled reservedly: "Hi guys, I'm Tobias." Everyone waited for the ensuing introduction, only to be greeted by silence.

_Well that was awkward, _Morrison muttered to himself.

~X~

Cynthia was late, frantically running through the corridors in an attempt to find the correct meeting room. It would be embarrassing if she were the last one to enter the room. Technically speaking, she was the one with the most experience in the team, even if she wasn't the most senior figure — which was why the prospect of—

"You're late, Cynthia," an annoying voice sounded. "Then again, it doesn't matter in this case. We were just making our introductions. I'm Neil Nott, I'll be your team leader."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, nodding curtly.

"And?" That annoying voice pressed for more. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us? Interests? Favorite food? What you've been up to the past few years-"

"I was on probation."

"Right…"


	6. Chapter 6

It was less nerve-wracking than he expected. His compartment was filled with people... who were reading, out of all things they could have pursued. Not a single one of them was talking.

Then again, neither was he. It should have felt awkward - his dad loved to spontaneously declare "awkward silence!" whenever nobody in the house was talking. Yet Nigel found this strangely calming. (If no one was talking, then there was no pressure for him to do so either.) He took out his copy of Byzantine Bewitchments for Beginners and began reading.

"Can I... join?" a timid voice whispered desperately, the first hint of sound in more than an hour. It was a boy whose eyes appeared red from crying.

"Sure, come in! Name's Nigel Potter, by the way," Nigel concurred, got up and shook the boy's hand.

"I'm Yiannis... I'm kind of, well, uh... I'm new and..."

"Well, so am I," another person in the compartment got up and addressed the new entrant. "My name's Conrad Boot." He then turned around to Nigel. "I didn't know Harry Potter's grandson was starting Hogwarts! Hey guys, now that I'm thinking about it, we still haven't introduced ourselves yet!"

He reached out to the rest of the room enthusiastically, only to be greeted by indifferent silence.

"Oh come on!" Someone finally got up. "Name is Karen Jones. I'm also a first-year, by the way, and my whole family's been in Ravenclaw since time immemorial so I'm definitely getting sorted there."

"Me too!" Another person got up and exclaimed. "Name's Marius Muscat."

"My mother was Ravenclaw," Yiannis piped up, his voice no longer trembling.

"No way! My whole family's been there too! Is this some kind of Ravenclaw 'squad' compartment?" Conrad sounded very excited.

"I'm muggleborn, but I'm pretty convinced I'm getting sorted there," another girl declared. "I'm Dorothea Smith! Also, I'm a big fan of Flitwick's work on Charms so I'm absolutely fascinated by the prospect of having him as a Head of House."

"Hey I love his books on Charms too! I have a copy with me!" Nigel gasped. All of a sudden, it seemed like everyone was clicking together like pieces in a puzzle.

"This is lit! Can't wait for all of us to be together in Ravenclaw!" Marius sounded pleased.

Nigel's heart sank. Now he felt like an outsider, the exception - he did not have many family members that were Ravenclaw, much to his consternation. And he was starting to like the bunch.

"What's the matter?" Dorothea immediately noticed his discomfort — perceptive individual indeed — and asked him.

"I'm not sure I'm going to be in Ravenclaw. Dad's side of the family is pretty much all Gryffindor and Mum's is all Slytherin," he mumbled. "I don't know about me."

In truth, he had originally been open to being in any house. Though on the platform, he had been vociferously debating with himself on whether he would be a better fit for Gryffindor or Slytherin. His cousin Maggie Zabini was also starting this year and she was a dead shoe-in for Slytherin, with her sardonic quips and propensity for mostly harmless manipulation. She also stuffed herself into a compartment filled with third-years, who were, according to her, much cooler than first-years and thereby leaving him to his own devices. No harsh feelings, but as he began chatting with his fellow compartment mates, Nigel realized that perhaps Ravenclaw had been the house he was looking for, the sweet spot of intellectual vibrancy, bereft of the mischief of Slytherin and the obligatory gallantry of Gryffinor.

"Well, I think you'll be in Ravenclaw," Dorothea said, trying to cheer him up, "You're smart, you like reading" — she gestured towards his book —"and you can always ask the hat, right?"

"Well, according to Hogwarts: A History, that's exactly what your grandfather did," Conrad lectured. "Now that we've established that we're all going to be in the same house, let's play Trivia Quiz!"

~X~

"You'll fit in RAVENCLAW!"

So at the end of the day, neither mother nor father won the bet as he rushed towards the Ravenclaw high table with relief. Karen, Marius, Conrad and Yiannis were all there and he was eager to join them in the common room tonight, overcoming the toils and troubles of getting past the front door riddles, braving classes and assignments together, trying out for Quidditch — now it all seemed laid before his eyes.

"Smith, Dorothea!"

The last part of their compartment gang was trying on the sorting hat. On the Ravenclaw table, there was a sense of anticipation among his friends.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Oh dear.

She looked a very distressed, clearly devastated at this unexpected revelation and the prospect of spending her time away from her first friends at Hogwarts. Nigel wanted to give her a hug and tell her that things will be fine. Slytherin was a decent house — its past reputation notwithstanding, his mother and uncle Albus both went there and they were among his favorite people.

"Poor girl, she'll get eaten alive there with all the snakes..." Marius whispered.

"Yeah," an upperclassman nodded — Sophie, Nigel recalled, was her name," They are a bit better than they were before, but they're still kind of ... dark and not too friendly with muggleborns. I suspect your friend might struggle."

"Hey guys, my mother went there and she turned out fine. My uncle went there and he enjoyed it—"

"And turned into the most wanted international criminal in more than a decade," Marius interjected flatly.

"Well, that's —-"

"Everyone knows Nigel. Nothing against you, no offense, it's not your fault. But come on." He was shut down quite bluntly by Sophie. "My father — an Auror — was badly injured once because of your uncle. Get real."

"Well, I'm just hoping she likes it there. Who knows?" Nigel defended his statements. Admittingly, he felt a little indignant, vicariously, about the attacks on his family members.

"Here's hoping that you're right, kid, but rational thought is not on your side," Sophie said.

"Just ignore that," Conrad, who sat next to him, whispered in his ear, "You clearly know them better than they do."

Nigel nodded half-heartedly. Everything was going so well before this mild altercation.

"I'm so excited!" Karen was trembling beside him, still mildly oblivious to his mood.

"You guys wanna do some secret exploration tonight? Sneak into the library? Sneak into the kitchens?" Yiannis suggested.

"Oh yesssss!" Karen gasped. "So much find out about this place!"

"Well guys, I think I have the perfect tool to help," Nigel volunteered, pulling out the Marauder's Map his father gave him. They all smirked.

Soon, he had forgotten about his argument with Sophie and Marius. All was (sort of) well.

~X~

Nigel enjoyed collecting postcards, both magical and muggle ones alike. When packing, his trunk had a special section dedicated to them.

His favourite one had to be at least 8 years old. It was a simple one about Chutt — a clandestine city situated inside the Amazon forest. A tall, ivory-engraved building carved with ancient symbols, emerging from the dense foliage and illuminated by a single torch brimming with blinding white light. The official address was not mentioned. It was signed by the initials A.S.P, his uncle's.

"Hope my little nephew is doing well. I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit. Sorry about not sending any candy too. I hope to see you one day! Let this be are our secret." That was the only message that came with it.

Nigel had wanted to pin that onto his wall but was scared his roommates might find this correspondence mildly suspicious, even if it was the only thing he had gotten from his uncle in all the years since the man left. He shared it with Dorothea once and she found it fascinating. He left out most of the details.

~X~

Maggie Zabini finally approached him on their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the only one Ravenclaw had with Slytherin.

"What's up, cousin?"

Oh now she's trying to talk to me, Nigel couldn't help feeling a little cynical.

"I'm good, you?"

"It's all been sooo exciting! Made a lot of good friends here, the Slytherin common room is amazing by the way, you should totally come visit!" Now she was smiling widely. Nigel knew she was like that — a little bit artificial at times, but not necessarily malignant. "I'd love to show you around. Also, your friend..." Maggie pointed towards a sulking Dorothea in the corner, who smiled weakly at his friends in Ravenclaw (were they already drifting apart?) and striving to fit in, "she's struggling a bit. It'll be a great way for you guys to help. You know, she doesn't 100% click with my house but I try to be nice."

A shrug.

"Good of you to tell me."

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**A/N: On banal snippets... It's coming together, I promise...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Finally, a window into Harry's mindset.**

* * *

Harry James Potter was a damaged man, the scars imparted by his turmoiled past, physical or spiritual, were apparent to any educated observer. If he had pulled through all the hardships with being the Chosen One — endured the death of his loved ones, the bereavement of a proper childhood, the precipice of mortality— then it was the fate that befell his favourite son that finally destroyed him.

Although still respected due to his seminal role in saving the Wizarding World from Voldemort, the recent mess surrounding his second son had raised rumors and objections regarding his fit for the title of Head Auror, and for his sanity in general.

Given the way gossip spreads, preposterous postulations had severely damaged his reputation. There was talk that, during a moment of softness and fatherly love, he had deliberately enabled Albus Severus Potter to escape the hands of justice. That love had blinded him from seeing his son as the monster he was. At times, these speculations also ensnared the long-serving Minister of Magic herself: there was also talk that he and Hermione had colluded to ensure that Albus Severus Potter consistently stayed out of Azkaban.

These insidious insinuations even reached the Auror department, where Harry Potter, generally held in high regard due to his good track record and treatment of his employees, was facing private grumblings. There was no open challenge to his authority, but there was a small simmering segment of discontent. The man was no idiot — he could tell.

He knew everything: the suspicions he faced, the compromised reputation. It was nothing new. He had experienced it all before, back when he was a student, back when people thought him mad, back when no one believed him that the Dark Lord had returned. He could take it.

Losing Albus, however, was something he couldn't.

Every day, when he woke up, at work (gazing at the desks his son could have been in), before bed, he would have to contend with the fact that he had failed as a father. Somewhere, along his road of parenthood, he failed to prevent his son from being led astray. Sure, Delphi Riddle had a large role to play, but he should have seen it, should have done something about it. Why hadn't he seen anything? Was it all the pressure of living up to his reputation? The pressure of pleasing him? Now, Harry had no way of knowing.

Albus Potter was in god-knows-where, doing in god-knows-what, with god-knows-who. There was no way of tracking him, all the retrieval missions had been a failure and not a semblance of communication with anyone Harry knew.

Gazing at a picture of him and his son inside his wallet, taken at the day of Albus' graduation, Harry's eyes stung from being on the verge of tears. He had been through this too many times to actually cry, but it hurt nonetheless. It hurt. He would always remember brimming with pride as he welcomed his son into the ranks of the Auror, as Albus succeeded in task after task, rising through the ranks as his colleagues heaped praise onto the boy. He would remember the earlier memories too, when his family would go to the seaside, where Albus and James would fight over the stupidest things as Lily would laugh over them. He would also remember the times when Albus — even before being sent off to Hogwarts — would wait for him late at night as he came back from a particularly dangerous mission, scared and a head filled with questions.

Where did it all go? The good times, where did it all go?


	8. Chapter 8

She bestowed him with her accursed presence tonight again. Tracing the contours of his body with her deft fingers, admiring, infatuated, she then pressed her lips against his. Whispering honeyed words into his ear, she made him forget what was wrong with his world.

"Oh Albus, how I missed you..."

"I missed you too..."

This was how he wanted to remember her, not as how he actually did.

Was it all a lie, their love, all the words she spoke before him — everything...?

Even if it was, it was just one night, one night where he would liberate himself from his worries. An oasis of bliss in a life of turmoil

~X~

A ghost wanders the Department of Secrets, a ghost of the last living descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Her presence was faint, too faint, for any wayward researcher to notice and her connection to the mortal world too weak to manifest any tangible importations. Every day she pines for him, desperate, intrigued, yet too frail to leave the place of her death. Anger and confusion reign too, for she does not know why she was betrayed — and yet she does! She does!

There was no reason why he wouldn't have. That was the way he was made, the way destiny was drafted! Diametric opposites, it could only have ended in bloodshed.

But did she love him? Did she regret anything at all?

There was no other way, no other way at all. No other man in the world, in past or present, in all that encompasses the universe, nothing that could have made her whole otherwise. She loved him more than anything, she had realized belatedly, after what seemed like aeons of contemplation and regret.

Were she ever to start all over again, she would relinquish her ambitions, her other identity. Destroy the Rowles with his help, confess the truth and plead for his love. But alas! It was not to be so! But she was not ready to leave! Not ready to forsake the mortal realm, where he resided — and where he would continue to reside in until his soul was mended.

And so she continued to wander the halls, unable to leave, hoping to seek a glimpse of him once again.

~X~

After 6 years his soul was still as fractured as ever. He had poured through every single dense tome about horcruxes and dark magic he could lay his fingers on, consulted every expert (indirectly, of course, for there was no way he would go around blaring his secret) and yet there was no answer to his problem.

Or rather, there was no other answer.

Every single source, every single suggestion, everything, had led him to one solution: repentance.

And yet how was he supposed to repent? What he did was not only right, it was necessary. And here lies the paradox, the befuddling mindfuckery and mental gymnastics he would have to perform in order to attain the path of salvation.

Okay maybe he did not have to kill that many people. But the Rowles? Delphi? Was it all wrong? He couldn't bring himself to either admit or believe.

~X~

She was alone in the room and there was a chair in the middle. It was a regular wooden chair, not too comfortable by the looks of it and yet something beckoned her towards it. The gentle lulling of voices gone.

When she sat on it, everything around her changed.

Fire, all around her. The smell of smoke. Beams of red and green light flying in the air. Laughter, high pitched, pernicious laughs, wormed their way into her ears. The dodged a deadly spell headed her way, only to realize the immateriality of it all. Muzzled voices that were supposed to sound coherent, blurry faces that were supposed to possess distinct contours, a situation that she would have otherwise ran from made her want to stay put more than anything. A sign, a sign of something…

Bright green eyes! Her own, perhaps. No. One that was all too familiar. Kin, blood-related… brother!

Albus Potter, pinning a woman to the wall, an elderly, sinister creature shrieking indistinguishably in the distance. She did not recognize the woman's voice. But she recognized her brother's. Gradually, his utterances became more apparent.

Howhowhowhow - it can't be true. Liar, liar, liar, liar! You lie! HOW?!

A thud.

The woman was dead and her killer stood up, striding towards the exit.

He stopped right in front of her. His eyes impassive, they narrowed and she could almost wager they had a red tint about them.

Albus.

"Albus-"

But it was to no avail, he did not hear her words. She was but a mere guest in this reality that was no reality. A dream, but perhaps something more? A more realistic estimation of reality? Just why was she here?

Laughter. This time she recognized it - and yet she didn't. It was so eery, so cold, so unlike him.

"Albus! You answer me right now!" She demanded in the most authoritative voice she could muster. "Damn it! -"

But he was gone.

* * *

**A/N: ****Curious to see how this unfolds? :)**


	9. Chapter 9

"I dreamt about my brother again," Lily sighed as she downed another shot of expresso. "Just… can't help it I guess."

"No I completely understand, I get bad dreams sometimes too… what brings you here though, after all this time?" Don reluctantly ordered a double-expresso - far too mild in relation to his preference for stronger substances.

"I… I guess I just wanted someone to talk about… someone that sort of gets what this is about? I mean, it sucks but you guys were teammates so I was just… never mind…" She realized what an incoherent mess she was spewing.

"Yeah it's fucked up. But you know what? My life is fucked up. It's not your brother's fault, but you know, seeing your mentor/ boss/ girlfriend's brother - well former - turn into a psycho and one of the world's most wanted criminals does take a toll on everything. I don't even know. Man, maybe it's not even that. After witnessing all the shit the Ministry has done to hide everything from us, I do wonder… I… you know… just lost interest… in everything…"

"Right… I... I lost an important person in my life too."

There they were, on and about it again. The same conversation, the same fulminations, the same problems. There was a tragically bizarre element to this cyclicality. Lily doesn't even know why she perpetually contacts Don whenever she has a weird dream about her brother, it's not as if he had actually been of any help in the past.

Mirroring her thoughts, Don questioned, "So you just had a bizarre dream about your brother and out of all the people in this bloody universe, you called your ex?"

"Well-"

"Nah, I get you. I-"

"Just to be clear Don, we're done as far as relationships go. But that's no reason for us to-"

"Let's stay on topic: what did you see?"

"Well, he had an old woman - who appeared to be kind of evil… - pinned to the wall and then killed her and then stared at me - by the way, I was sitting in a chair - and left. I don't know, he just seemed so unlike himself…"

"It is a dream, after all, Lily, dreams are not always accurate," Don noted. "Still, that's not too far away from what has been hypothesized. He did kill someone, after all, that night, that was the rumor. I'm still, I mean, in spite of being in his team, I still don't know what's going on."

"Yeah… I mean, not many people knew what happened and the information was classified for a reason, but still… can't help but think about it," Lily muttered.

"I've long suspected that Thomas MacLaggen knew a lot more than the rest of us. He cut us all off after that though, on top of securing a promotion. What a git. Though I must say I am somewhat sympathetic. Then there's Cynthia Lang, poor woman. She's never been the same afterwards. Even got suspended for a bit."

"She's my teammate."

"She is?! Do say hi to her for me."

"Yeah, she seems alright. I'll do that."

"On second thought, don't. It might sound awkward."

Lily snorted in return. "I'll do it at the right moment. Here's the thing, I'm just not sure how she would respond to questions about my brother, you know. We've been in the same team for a while but we've never actually talked about him."

"Well, that's... fair I guess? I don't imagine she would want to randomly re-visit bad memories."

"How are the rest of your team like?"

"They're decent and speaking of the rest of my team, there's my boss," Lily said as she pointed towards two figures entering the cafe. Neil Nott threw his hands up in the air and gesticulated with almost comical desperation. It was somewhat typical of him, she mused.

"Look's like a pretentious little ass," Don remarked with a snort.

"He's alright, actually. Just seems stressed all the time. Cynthia dislikes him though."

"Well, no Lawrence, you're on 'Gran Duty', I am NOT dealing with her ridiculousness a second longer. Plus, you've been away all this time in America, acting like some pretentious professor - no, I don't care that you think you're some distinguished teacher, that does not excuse you. As the elder brother among us, well, that comes with certain obligations and responsibilities towards the family that you have - for a very long time - failed to fulfill. Now, I have a very busy job as an Auror and this is the one weekend where I get to rest before Christmas so bear with me when I say I'm not about to spend it with a cranky 120-year-old woman who still believes the most ridiculous -"

"Oh boo hoo, little Neil wants to party with his friends," the guy next to Neil - presumably Lawrence, his older brother - made a faux sad face. He turned around to face everyone else and remarked cheekily, "Do we want to break it to him that he has none?"

Lily chuckled a little and muttered the words 'pretentious little ass,' chewing Don's earlier words.

"Not funny! And I saw that guys! Lily and whoever the hell the guy sitting with you. Merlin's pants… Let a man have a break…"

"Awwwwww poor little Neil," Lawrence grinned as he rubbed his brother's head. "You see, my brother just really misses having friends - oh oops, he's never had any… How tragic…"

"I just don't want to spend my one free weekend with great-great-great grandma-"

"The cranky bigot?" Don asked.

"You'd have to specify which one," Lily said with a snort, "His family is full of them."

"Excuse me-"

"She is kind of correct, little brother. The infamous Cantakerous has sure ruined our reputation a long time ago."

"Yeah, but she's just saying that to annoy m-"

"You're Lawrence," Lily interjected. "You also knew my brother."

"We were in the same year, the same house... nothing else really," Lawrence replied.

Neil looked very unamused, shaking his head as he headed towards the counter, dragging his brother away with him. "Come on Lawrence, let's order our stuff and find somewhere else to-"

"Awww poor little brother... not getting along well with your teammates?"

"We're fine. Stop being annoying."

"Wow, he's a twat isn't he?" Lawrence gazed at them while forlornly shrugging his shoulders. "Bear with him, please."

"We try," Lily replied.

~X~

He was 100% sure he had the worst luck in the world. A month into his new position and his team was seriously getting on his nerves.

Morrison was blunt and irritating and made the worst jokes at the most inopportune moments — the guy never stopped talking, not even when they were chasing down an elderly witch's stolen wallet in Diagon Alley (truly, the scope of crimes was mind-bogglingly banal) and almost always, he would brag about how many 'matches' he had gotten on this strange muggle app called 'Tinder.'

Tobias barely spoke and sometimes Neil wondered if the guy was capable of speech at all. The few times he did made Neil glad that the guy kept his mouth shut the rest of the time — seemingly gentle, Tobias was prone to outbursts when he got frustrated with himself, muttering angrily that "the beast will NEVER come out" or whatever crap that seemed to mean. Weird guy; boring most of the time and not good company.

Lily Luna Potter was mildly tolerable, perhaps the only one Neil can stomach on a daily basis — that was, until she started talking about her brother. Albus was good at this, Albus liked that, Albus did this and this and this and then somehow she would slip into a state of mourning about how she wished she knew where he was. It was as if she had joined the Aurors, transferring out of what seemed like a promising medical career in St. Mungos, for the sole reason of finding him again. (Perhaps she did.) Anyhow, it irritated Neil because Albus Potter was the reason why the Rule-25 was instated, stipulating that no one below the age of 25 was allowed to lead a team. The sole reason — or so he would like to have believed — that he wasn't promoted earlier.

Now Cynthia, Cynthia was the worst of them all. There were moments when she was openly hostile and insubordinate, bordering on mocking his young age, mannerisms, calling him 'snakey' and making jokes about his instructions. She openly questioned his abilities to be a decent team leader and constantly acted as if he did not know his job. Worst of all, there were times when she consistently interrupted his speeches.

"We will split into two groups to scout the area-"

"Oh, well, then who's going to stand guard back here?"

"We need to get the diagnostic of this venom completely corr-"

"That won't be needed, we don't have time."

"Right, team, we should come in 8am tomorrow-"

"That wouldn't be necessary, most teams do 9am."

And the rudeness goes on and on.

In all honesty, Neil was sorely tempted to complain to his superiors about Cynthia — and the rest of his team. And yet, part of him was worried that his seeming inability to manage most of them would reflect badly on future promotion prospects. Biting his lips, he had no choice but to (for now) deal with them.

Perhaps an opening would emerge in the future, perhaps the initial friction would give way to something more tolerable. As of now, however, there was no ending in sight. Director Thunberg, one of his supervisors, had offered a few tips on dealing with the lot, all while implicitly expressing sympathy towards his current position. ("Do let me know if things really go south for your team. I might be able to help," he also offered.) Apparently, Cynthia was hot-headed and traumatized, Lily was also hot-headed and traumatized, Tobias was introverted, possessed a disturbing magical condition and traumatized and Morrison Wilders was a loudmouth but also had a photographic memory (something he had proven during a task). A lovely bunch.


	10. Chapter 10

Weeks flew by in a blur and it was November already — or more specifically, it was Alumni Day, where former Hogwarts students visited their old school, attended formal dinners with their House Heads, conversed with their former professors, traversed the school premises and Hogsmede like eager students again and played one much anticipated Quidditch game, which was clearly the focus of this whole thing anyway.

This year's line-up was a combined Ravenclaw-Slytherin team versus a combined Gryffindor-Hufflepuff team. There was much chatter amongst his fellow students about who might be playing who. Some Gryffindors were definitely making monetary bets and Nigel was sure that some of his friends were joining in too.

"Potter, which side do you reckon is gonna win?" Yiannis asked as he chewed on a chocolate frog.

"Personally, I'd call it a toss-up. Both sides are evenly matched. Their side's Chasers and Beaters are stronger, but I hear our Seeker this year is good. It depends on how fast this match lasts, I guess," Nigel analyzed.

"Well, I'm betting on ours," Karen said with a huff. "What about you, Conrad? Conrad?"

"Stop distracting me, I'm clearly examining the magic around this parchment. It's fascinating," Conrad said with awe as he continued staring at the Marauder's Map.

"Mate, you've been staring at the thing for weeks," Marius exclaimed. "And yours still haven't concluded anything meaningful."

"Breakthroughs always emerge when one feels most hopeless!" Conrad declared.

Dorothea giggled as she watched them bicker again. "Well, I reckon we're winning too. Neil Nott, our seeker, he could have been in Puddlemore. Ended up joining the Aurors though."

~X~

"Try harder," Neil grinned as he grasped the Golden Snitch in the air. Lawrence had lost a coin toss so he was, thankfully, relieved from 'Gran Duty' and was able to finally, after months of being submerged in work, find some time to play Quidditch with friends of old.

"I'm just saying, bro, I still don't know why you're not a professional Quidditch player," Arthur shook his head as he dismounted along with the rest of the group.

"Thanks for the flattery but I'm sure Martin there would disagree," Neil returned his words with some false modesty. In truth, these days, he was beginning to think that he had made a mistake back at Hogwarts when he foolishly decided to enlist as an Auror. Indeed, just what was he thinking? In the past few years, his friend Martin, along with the rest of Puddlemore seemed to be having the time of their lives. He could have been one of them. What had he gained by becoming an Auror - just what was he-

"Watch for the bludger!"

Neil ducked just in time.

That old feeling of exhilaration, whenever his team won and the euphoria gushing through his veins as he faced a cheering crowd - perhaps old-fashioned house rivalry played a part in all of this, but it made Neil really miss the good times at school. As well as continue to question his life choices.

"Well, folks, I say let's head to Hogsmede later and drink our hearts out!" Bran suggested. "Drinks are on me!"

"Seriously guys, as a member of the Aurors, our friend Neil can't be spotted at shady places when not on duty," Arthur interceded, much to the moaning of many others.

"No it's okay, I can afford to dip from time to time. Besides it's not like the place is that bad - if you want to talk about bad, I can tell you all about the horrors my brother went through while attending great-great-grandma," Neil said.

"Oh, we all know dearest…" Martin chuckled as he ruffled Neil's head.

~X~

"I just miss being in Hogwarts-"

"I don't."

"Well, because you're currently having a good time and I'm, well, I'm doing okay I guess… Okay, I realize I'm fooling no one here but consider this: you are promoted, you think you're going to have a decent career but then your team sucks and you begin to realize the multitudinous inadequacies of your own capabilities and character, wondering whether that was the real excuse people gave for not advancing you earlier was not because frickin Albus Potter went bonkers but because of the sole, unsalvageable reason that you suck!"

"Woahhhhhh!"

There were gasps all around the room.

"Sorry guys, I got emotional," Neil piped as he owned another shot. "I love these. Just look at them, they're on fire!" He pointed to the flaming shots of liquor. "You know what else is on fire? My entire career! I'm never going to get along with my team and so I won't get promoted and I'll spend my life forever as some low-level bureaucrat, hating myself and hating everyone around me."

"Come on bro, no need to wallow in self-pity, am I right?" Martin patted his back. "Really, things aren't always that good at Puddlemore. I mean, they're not bad but I have struggles too. Heck, we all make decisions in life and no path ever smooth. Just... you'll be fine."

"You should go on one of those sappy self-healing talk shows... just listen to yourself..." Neil murmured drowsily as he reached for another shot, only to be blocked by Arthur.

"No more alcohol tonight for you, son."

"I drink whatever I want, whenever I want." Neil snatched the shot-glass back.

"Now Mr. Prefect, you understand how us insubordinate mortals felt when you tried to stop us from drinking in the Common Room," Antoine declared.

"It was a Monday, Antoine, nobody drinks on a fucking Monday..."

"Okay, Neil, but say some emergency happens and you're suddenly called for duty, I want to know that our Aurors will keep us safe and not show up inebriated," Sam joked.

"It's fine, there's nothing that bad going on anyway, no nothing... boring... what's the worse that can happen tonight?" Neil mumbled.

"I don't know, maybe... Albus Potter is in England?"

"Not going to happen."

"No, I mean it, Albus Potter is in England right now, according to the Daily Watcher," Arthur pointed at the screen behind the bar table frantically. "Well shit, he's apparently knocked a couple of Aurors unconscious... wait, wait, wait... no... no..."

"You're joking... Arthur... why are you always like this?" Neil slurred, mildly vexed and pointing towards his friend in an accusatory manner.

"Errrrr I'm not, mate. Also, your alarm is sounding."

"Fucking hell, probably just Cynthia playing a prank on me. Fucking bitch..."

"Errrrrrrrrrr, Albus Potter has broken into the Ministry of Magic."

"Nonsense!"

"Mate, you should report for duty-"

"Does it look like he's fit for duty?!"

"Does it look like it matters?!"

"Does it look like it matters if it matters?!""

"You guys... it's okay. I'll ring my brother right now! I'm half-convinced that Lawrence corresponded illegally, against international and national law, in contacting and occasionally covering for Albus Potter. I'm dead-ass sure. I mean, okay... I'm not implying all Slytherins are related to shady criminals, after all, we're not - but - but, we're mostly a tight bunch too. Lawrence, Duke, Hector... my brother's mates - some of them must know something!" Neil ranted incoherently.

"Then bring me to them," came a stern voice.

Neil froze. "Director Thunberg?"

Crap.

"Your brother. Mind showing me the way?"

~X~

It was all over the news. Inescapable, all-consuming, making her heart pulsate, thump its way out of her chest. Lily couldn't take it anymore.

Her brother was in Britain.

At least, according to the news, he was in Britain.

One moment, she was catching up with old friends in Hogwarts after Alumni Day, complaining a little about losing the Quidditch game, joking around and forgetting about the world around her, feeling like a carefree student - and then in another brother had to be in Britain.

She last saw him a few days before the disaster at the Ministry, before she knew what he would become. Afterwards, he simply cut off everyone he knew. She tried to reach him in various way to little avail. They all tried to. He broke everyone around him. Her father - Harry Potter - was never the same again. The man tried to hide it, but she knew better.

So here she was, at the Ministry of Magic, ready to give it one last shot after she hurriedly bid her friends goodbye and disapparating into the night. Maybe she would no longer recognize the person he has become, maybe the Aurors would end up capturing him and sending him right to Azkaban, maybe he'll escape again and leave everyone behind - again.

"Dude! You know where Neil is? He was meant to meet the rest of the team here!" Morrison asked her as he rushed down to meet them.

"He said he was going out with his mates tonight. By going out, I assumed they were getting drunk. By deduction, I'm not sure if he's in the right condition to be here," Tobias speculated.

"Woah! That's literally the most this man has said. Like ever."

"Morrison, please... you're not helping," Lily muttered. She could sense everyone else around them getting progressively more nervous.

~X~

"Directorrrr," Neil slurred his speech as he stumbled along his boss. "I'm not saying Lawrence 100% knows what Albus Potter is up to. I'm only saying he might. Might. Please go easy on himmmm..."

Director Thunberg continued to stride onwards, without any regard for his words, understandably.

"Look, all he told me was that he smoked pot with Albus Potter once. Once. Somewhere in America, maybe. I'm not saying he's culpable - well, I really don't know if-"

"I'll need your permission to get into your Manor, Neil," Director Thunberg uttered with just a whiff of impatience. "I'd prefer to pay my visits the polite way."

"Fineeeeee... but don't kill Lawrence, pleaseeeeeeee... pretty pleasee..."

"Do I look like a murderous psychopath to you?" Director Thunberg snapped, his eyes glaring indignantly.

"Also, don't listen to anything my great-great-great gramma saysssss..."

"Neil, I won't wait forever."

"Understood boss..." Neil gave a drowsy salute.


	11. Chapter 11

Still drowsy from inebriation, Neil grabbed his flask and began downing water. He needed to think things through with a clear mind before apparating before the Ministry of Magic, where his team was currently situated.

And he felt utterly flustered and ashamed - just what was he thinking? Getting drunk, whining, stumbling around while the rest of his team was risking their safety guarding the Department of Secrets from potentially the most dangerous criminal of the decade. And just what was he doing, blustering and gossiping like a mad hen, blathering rumours about his own brother in front of his friends - especially when they were clearly unsubstantiated?

The look on Lawrence's face had been one of shock and puzzlement - and finally, indignance. His brother was back visiting the country for Alumni Day, excitedly cheering for him at the Quidditch game, glad to catch up with old acquaintances. And now the poor guy was in an interrogation cell, facing an intense inquisitor with a difficult reputation.

He couldn't exactly remember if his parents had heard all the noise downstairs. But he was sure they would be displeased by being frequented by an Auror.

Fuck him. His own terrible attitude, lack of drive and optimism, incessant whining had led to this. "No more thinking about Quidditch..." Neil muttered to himself as he apparated away.

~X~

There was a shutdown in Hogwarts. Barricaded in the Great Hall, there was much nervous chattering. The Ravenclaws were huddled together in one corner, speculating on the cause of the kerfuffle. His friends were either panicking or reading or panicking and reading.

Nigel shut his eyes as he buried his ears into his hands. There was a persisting headache plaguing him and he was sure he was meant to hear - and feel - something.

_Nigel... _

_Nigel?_

_How are you, Nigel?_

_It's been so long... __You were so small when we last met..._

_Do you remember me?_

~X~

"If he's still not here, shouldn't we be the slightest worried?" Lily insisted. "Do you reckon he's in danger?"

"Plausible," Cynthia said as she joined the rest of the huffing and panting. "I rang our alarm amulets. He appears conscious... but a little... out... and surrounded by dark magic. But then again, these amulets are at a test stage."

"He's very likely inebriated and frequenting a shady bar like the Basilisk's Fang," concluded Morrison.

"Not likely, I was there," Cynthia said, ignoring the chuckles around her. "Then again, there are many others. This is a serious matter; we need to ensure he's in a good state to be on duty."

"He likely isn't," said Morrison.

"We'll have to try," Cynthia said with a worried sigh.

Cynthia bit her lip. This was urgent matter. They were on a mission, guarding the Department of Mysteries from a possible intrusion and their boss was nowhere in sight. That prick... sometimes she wondered why he wanted to be an Auror at all. He obviously did not enjoy being with the rest of the team - the disdain was palpable. He could have played Quidditch, enjoyed the life of a glamorous celebrity... and yet he threw that away. Why? She lost count on the number of times they argued over stupid details. She lost count on the number of times he clenched his jaw at something harmless coming out of Lily's mouth. It was like he disliked them for existing.

"I'm here!"

Speak of the devil.

"Sorry for my lateness... I ran into Director Thunberg and had a detour, in addition to being mildly inebriated," Neil admitted rather shamefully. "But that's no matter, we've got an important thing to do."

There were a few nods around the group, mostly tinged with skepticism. Neil sighed: "I know I haven't been the best team leader in the world... and I'm sorry for that. I hope things can get a little better from today onwards. I will do my best. For now, however, we should not become distracted by our previous misgivings. Intelligence sources put the chance of Albus Potter breaking in at 80%. We need to be ready."

"Neils right," Morrison concurred. "Let's capture the guy and put him on trial... Oh, sorry Lily, I-"

"No, you're right," Lily agreed. "This has gone on for too long."

~X~

"Uncle Albus?" Nigel whispered, baffled. The voice sounded awfully familiar, awakening an early memory. "What-"

_Shhhhh... I'm communicating with you inside your head. Basically a derivation of Legilimency... You can just think what you want to say to me and I'll know..._

_Okay? Well, how do I know that it is you? I mean, I do, but what are you doing here?_

_Hogwarts has one of the most extensive libraries in the world and some very rare texts about special magic that is banned from the ministry._

_You're not talking about the Dark Arts-_

_No, no, of course not... what kind of person do you think I am?_

_I dunno... some of my housemates think you're the most dangerous person alive._

_Well, maybe they're not wrong, but I'm certainly not some shady Dark Wizard! I would never do anything to harm you... or anyone here. _

_I never thought you were. Mom and dad refuse to talk about you... says it might make things painful for grandpa. But I know you're a good guy._

There was a pause. Nigel wondered if he had said something wrong.

_That's... touching to know. Will you do me a favour?_

_What is it?_

_I want you to come with me._

_What-_

~X~

He felt numb all over his body, powerless as he was hauled underneath a cloak and transported away from the Hall.

_Don't worry I created an illusion of you reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and put you in a corner. Knowing Ravenclaws, they wouldn't dare make the mistake of interrupted something who was reading. _

_That's a bit much..._

_Whatever works. By the way, sorry for stunning you earlier._

He felt his limbs loosen. "Damn it, Uncle Albus, why would you need to-"

"To prevent you from squirming or being too loud. Get up, we've got things to do." Albus offered his hand and Nigel took it.

He remembered that face, that voice. Uncle Albus's bright green eyes peered into him, cheerful, a little mischievous, encouraging. He thought the man hadn't aged much at all, save for the dark circles around his eyes and sharper, hollower cheeks and jaw structure.

"Are we in the Library? Out of all the places you would need to break into, the Library?"

"Shhhh..."

"Alright then," Nigel whispered with a shrug. "I've missed you."

A smile from Albus - and then a hand came and messed up his hair. "I've missed you too."

"Now, you must be wondering why I needed your help," Albus explained as they progressed through the bookshelves. "There appears be certain spells on certain books that prevents me specifically from being able to access them. That's where you come in."

"Ah, okay. Why now? Why did you have to do all of this today?" Nigel questioned.

"It's Alumni Day... pretty easy to disguise myself, watch a Quidditch game or two from the stadiums, chill around Hogsmede. Why not?"

"Yeah, it was a good game. Our win was so close."

"Indeed. Highly likely that we would have lost based on Chasers alone. Not a Quidditch expert though."

"Oh... I'm thinking of trying out for the team next year."

"Nice. Our whole family is filled with good Quidditch genes. I'm sure you'll do great."

_Our family_. It was strange hearing him say that. He had been so absent in the past few years it was like he had been a ghost.

"How were your travels?" Nigel ventured curiously.

"Fun," Albus said. "I think you'd really love Rio - or Prague. Very different cities, very nice. You should visit it with James some day. I'm sure he'd love to take you there in one of his soulless business trips."

Nigel chuckled.

"We're here," Albus announced.

"But this is the Forbidden Section," Nigel remarked, a little worried.

"Don't worry," Albus assured him. "All I need you to do is pull that book off the shelf. It's been magicked to resist me, apparently."

"Oh, that's it?" Nigel reached for it and handed it to his Uncle, who proceeded to wrap it around some patterned cloth.

"That's from Marrakesh," Albus said as he placed the bundle in a bag. "By the way, have some candy. I got it from Turkey."

"Wow... Turkish delight? That's my favourite!" He gasped.

"Same old, same old... We better get going. I don't want to get you in trouble."

Nigel nodded as they slipped under the Invisibility Cloak again.

"When will you be back again?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know. But I'll let you know if I do. I'm sorry that's not really an answer." Albus sounded apologetic.

"I see..."

"It was good catching up with you though... Have a great time at Hogwarts, I'm sure everything will be alright. And remember: if anyone asks, you never saw or heard me."

"So a secret."

"Yup."

He hugged his Uncle.

~X~

A sickly green beam of light shot past her, causing containers on a shelf nearby to explode.

"What the hell Albus? What was that for?!" Cynthia yelled furiously.

Neil shot a stunning spell that barely missed the target.

Things were escalating.


	12. Chapter 12

It was mayhem all around them. Albus Potter had taken advantage of the chaos and slipped between the shelves, towards the section containing classified files. It seemed like he was after something important.

And he had back up.

Grunting, Cynthia dodged another blast and proceeded to chase after the target.

"- Leave me alone Albus!"

Lily.

Her teammate was disarmed and cornered by none other than her own brother.

"Look Lils, I don't want to harm you but you have let it go," Albus said with a shrug. "I have what I want, I have the backup, I have the means to get out of here. Now, if you would just- well - _Petrificus Totalus_... Sorry dear." Lily froze up.

"Reducto!" Cynthia pointed her wand at Albus, who was knocked over.

"Expelliarmus!" Someone else, a hooded companion of Albus, had managed to disarm her.

"Brachiabindo!" Another voice - Neil - shouted as ropes coiled around Albus. He closely sidestepped another attack. "Here, your wand!" He picked her wand and tossed it over.

"Thanks," Cynthia said with a nod as she caught it.

She paused to survey the situation. There were four intruders - one of which was incapacitated - and five of them. They could take on that.

Swiftly, she worked with Neil to disarm and bind the other wizard beside Albus.

"Crucio!"

She felt her blood turn cold as she turned around. Poor Tobias was squirming on the floor, screeching in pain, twisting and turning as his attacker watched impassively.

"Leave him! Expelliarmus!" She shouted. The spell was blocked.

When Tobias stopped screaming - and when the effects had worn off - he started shaking furiously.

"Cru-"

Morrison had jumped out of nowhere and tackled the attacker to the ground, grabbing his wand from his hand and snapping it in half. "Do not - you will _not_ use an Unforgivable Curse."

"Oh but I'm only trying to help... Soon you will see-"

A punch.

"So we're going the fistfight route," Neil observed as Morrison proceeded to throw a barrage of punches at the target. "Or perhaps we should disarm or stun him instead- Shit!" He leaped aside, narrowly dodging another Killing Curse. There was still another one on the loose.

"Crucio!" Another Cruciatus Curse was thrown at Tobias, who collapsed on the ground just as he was beginning to recuperate.

"The Portkey, you idiot, now!" An entangled Albus shouted at his remaining companion. "_Now!_"

Within a split second, the two of them were whisked away.

"Shit!" Cynthia cursed.

~X~

So glass-half-empty, glass-half-full. They managed to capture two of the intruders, yes, who would no doubt provide some clues and leads. Yet they missed the most wanted person, who incidentally probably got away with some valuable information. Neil immediately contacted Director MacLaggen, who would send over the agents to transport the two into official custody.

The charm on Lily was reversed and she broke down, sobbing on the ground. It must have been hard for her, Neil realized. He tried picturing his own brother going crazy on him in a bad way. He simply couldn't. Something felt very wrong.

"Lily..." He walked up to her and gave her a hug. It was probably rather awkward. He was sure she found it strange and that Cynthia, who was also concerned, found it unexpected. But it was important to show that he cared even a situation like this. Even the smallest sign of emotional support helps. "None of this is your fault. It's going to be okay..."

"Lily, if you ever need someone to talk to... if you ever just want to chill and cry and hangout, my apartment door is always open," Cynthia remarked. "I know this is hard. I know... I... Neil - mind stepping back and letting me hug her?"

"Sure. Let me know if you guys need any tissue paper or anything. In the meantime, I'll check on Tobias and Morrison."

Cynthia nodded.

"Um... a little help here?! Why is Tobias having green scaley skin all of a sudden? HELP?!" Morrison was gesticulating frantically.

"What? What is the meaning of this?" Neil asked as he rushed over.

Tobias was still shaking.

"Buddy, are you okay?"

No response.

"TOBIAS?!"

The palpitations were getting more severe. There were spikes protruding all over.

"Merlin's beard is he a-"

A blinding white light engulfed him. Tobias crumpled on the floor, sleeping soundly.

"Sorry for the lateness," Thomas MacLaggen said as he strolled in. "We're part of transport backup."

Morrison and Neil shot furtive glances at each other, as if exchanging a newfound revelation. _Let me deal with this_, Neil mouthed.

"Thank you, Director MacLaggen. I appreciate it. Unfortunately, Albus Potter has gotten away, but his companions should lend us some data on his activities and whereabouts," Neil explained.

"And thank you for your service, Neil. You're not the first Auror he's slipped through, but we're getting closer."

"Morrison, why don't you take Tobias to the hospital wing? There are a few things I'd like to relay to the Director."

"Yeah boss. See ya later."

Thomas chuckled. "Interesting guy," he remarked.

"Your teammates... you get used to them. What can I say?" Neil shrugged. "Now, I've noticed that Tobias is a Maladic-"

"Yes, yes he is," Thomas interjected. "Is there anything else you would like to say?"

"Well, then why on earth-"

"Neil, you are dismissed for the rest of your day. Have a good night."

~X~

There she was, salivating in his essence and there he was, inside her, consumed by her. It was almost too real, the way she buried herself in his arms and him holding her tightly, fearing that she would slip away once again. His heart pulsated as she nibbled at his neck. It had been too long, he thought while simultaneously aggressively thrusting his cock inside her.

Heavens be damned, he was a doomed man.

"Lie down, relax a little," he suggested sheepishly. "Let me do the work."

She grinned. She always enjoyed things this way. His lips swept through her body, not leaving behind any nook or cranny.

"Oh Albus, how I enjoyed being adored by you."

_This isn't real._

_This isn't real._

_This isn't real._

He shot up from his sleep. His bed was, to his embarrassment, wet yet again.

Something felt wrong.

"Revelio!"

His cabinet exploded, emanating beams of energy - and then proceeded to shrink and wither. Its wooden surface paling and its form shifting, shifting and shifting until it resembled more of a man. Albus bit the interior of his mouth with annoyance. With a wandless, wordless _Petrificus Totalus_, he quickly incapacitated the figure before him.

"Oh, not you..."

With another flick of the wrist, he reversed the charm.

"Albus Severus Potter, I don't care how much you have helped me in the past, you will get the hell away from my brother! If I find out you had touched a single hair, a single speck of dust on him, I will - I will - "

"Oh calm down Lawrence, you look like a haggard old criminal who's spent his last hour in an interrogation cell!" Albus interrupted. "What's happened to you since this afternoon?"

"Look, you told me you were only looking to break into the Hogwart's library. Not _once, once _did you ever mention _anything_ about the Ministry of Magic! Just what are you hiding from all of us?" Larence was fuming, his cheeks bright red.

"What in Merlin's diaper are you fumbling about?!"

"Well, to address your first question, I was being interrogated by Director Thunberg from the Auror department for covering your ass! And you know, not once did I expose you or any of you guys! Secondly, that was my brother you tried to kill at the Department of Mysteries! You-"

"One, I'd like to thank you for your help buddy. And I suppose I'll offer vicarious goodwill on the part of Hector, Douglas and Lucas, but I'm sure they'll thank you later. I haven't been in touch with them at all, given the near defunct state of the Sons of Walpurgis. Two, I was never at the Ministry of Magic. I met up with you at Hogsmeade this afternoon, then I paid a small visit to my nephew at Hogwarts and that was it," Albus defended as his voice quieted. His brows furrowed as he realized just what this meant.

"You mean it?"

A cold nod.

"And this means..."

"This means someone else is in big trouble."

He saw Lawrence gulping. Was he really that scary?


	13. Chapter 13

Lily Luna Potter hasn't eaten for a day.

Listless, soulless, mechanically getting out of bed, calling sick to work and then slumping back into her bed covers. It was all too painful for her to bear, the thought that she had lost her brother forever, that she just wanted to sleep and wake up from this nightmare.

He had treated her like she was nothing, barely even mentioned that he missed her, barely even concerned about her own safety. After all these years, he treated her like a mere opponent, a target to be disposed of. Who is Albus Potter anymore? Had he really changed that much, had he really... Did she mean nothing to him? Was there anything that could have gone differently?

She felt like a failure. In truth, what was she even doing as an Auror, switching away from her successful stint at St Mungo's, all for what? She couldn't even bring her own brother back home.

Don wasn't answering her calls anymore - probably still sleeping or hungover. It had become instinctual, reaching out to him whenever she felt something was wrong with her life. She didn't even know why. They had stopped dating ages ago because everything had gotten so toxic and yet inextricably, they were drawn to each other time and time again when they were feeling down. Support buddies, perhaps?

This was madness, all of this. Her own thoughts were driving her mad, driving her into an abyss of despair. What was the point of it all? Everyone else had moved on, why couldn't she?

_Lils, are you ok?_ Came a text from Cynthia. _Neil said you called in sick. _

She ignored it. What was the point of it all?

~X~

There are times when violent urges and impulses sweep through him. Albus knows not about their origins. nor how to dispel them. But then they fade into nothingness like the inexplicable void they came from. As if nothing had happened.

Too many times, panic coursed through his veins as he struggled to process these feelings. To dig a knife into someone's neck, to stab a cute little squirrel, to bite someone's ear off, to scream into someone's face, to snap someone's necks and wrists. There were moments when he dreamed about casting the Killing Curse on nameless figures. It was containable, yes, easily quarantined away from the rest of his mind and soul, but he feared these urges were getting more and more common the longer he remained in his current state.

Perhaps killing only increases the urge to kill, or at least to maim. Humans were such savages.

"I would kill you, but what good would that do?" Albus found himself pondering out loud as his captive shivered before him.

A shaking voice trembling, the sound of shallow breathing. A man, gasping for air, clamoring, begging for his life, yet so resigned, so hopeless and so helpless. The ropes around him, searing with heat, tore into his flesh. His face shiny from sweat, coalescing into streams, cascading down his burnt and scorched flesh.

"Please... I... I was paid to do this..." Such terror. The absurdity of it all. It was like bad art. He had seen many poor imitators in his years as a contracted Wizard.

They were all like this. They slipped into illegality one way or another - for family, for belief, for money, for stupidity... And they expected no repercussions. Perhaps he was not so different.

"So let me get this clear. You pretended to be me, broke into the Ministry of Magic to steal illegal data about my past and many more secrets the Auror department has elected to conceal, threatened _my sister_ and expect me to be okay with it?" He felt his voice rising. The thought of Lily being cornered and attacked made him awfully indignant.

"I had to do this for my family... They needed the money-"

"Well, what about mine?! How do you think I felt about you hurting and threatening my own sister?"

"... Well, for one, I actually see my wife and kids everyday- ouch, ouch... I get it... Sore point isn't it? That's why you had all the data burnt and destroyed... heh... Don't worry, I never saw anything... or did I? Didn't matter, the money was already on its way..."

Albus snorted and cast an Obliviator's Curse. He would leave the captive's body somewhere the Auror's could find and depart England by dawn.


	14. Chapter 14

Tapping his fingers on the desk, Neil shut his eyes as he contemplated the slate of events yesterday. Getting hungover, accidentally screwing over his brother with a dumb rumour, rushing to the scene, almost dying, dealing with Albus Potter, comforting his teammates, discovering more goons and criminals in a hotel... It was a lot.

Lily's desk was still empty. She had called in sick today but he wasn't surprised at all. He knew she probably wasn't really sick but it did not matter. He understood things from her perspective, the need for a breather, for a break from everything else in the world.

In truth, he was concerned, much like the rest of his team. She had refused to reply to any other messages and calls beyond contacting him about her sick leave.

"Neil... I'm worried about Lily. As in, I'm seriously concerned about her," Cynthia said, "What if this is the beginning of a spiral of depression for her? What if - what if she keeps calling sick in the future because of this-"

"Then we will have to manage without her, which will be difficult... Look, I'm with you on this... But I think we should give her at least a day without being bothered by the rest of her team. Sometimes it's important."

"Or having a negligent team could deprive an Auror of her best source of support," Cynthia rebutted flatly. "I... would know how it feels better than you."

Sighing, Neil was in no mood to counter her, not that he really disagreed with her on it either. Somehow, all the snarky quips that swarmed around his head had evaporated. "I know. I must have been hard."

Silence.

"It must have been hard to - to - re-adjust after..."

"Yeah. Had to see a therapist. Saw all my other colleagues get promoted, progressing, flourishing and I... I felt like shit."

"I'm sorry to hear, I hope it's all better now for you."

"Sort of. I no longer feel suicidal... I considered quitting the Aurors during my suspension, you know. Thought a different job would get everything off my mind. Applied for all sorts of things: retail, coffee shops, magical research, journalism, security contracting... all of them rejected me. Maybe my record or reputation or inability to get over myself impacted my chances. I couldn't exactly travel much either - restrictions from the ministry and all that. I was too embarrassed to see other people so I mostly kept to myself in my house. None of the rest of the team kept on contact with me either and my colleague, Thomas MacLaggen, who was promoted, kind of shut me out of his life. So when I could begin working again, you couldn't imagine how relieved I was... cautiously hopeful, perhaps. It's not bad these days."

"Cynthia," Neil felt compelled to say, "I know we haven't gotten along all the time... but if you ever feel the need to chat about this, just let me know. I might be that helpful, but I can at least listen."

"Thanks."

"Really, I mean it."

~X~

It felt great to torch the man alive with Fiendfyre, he wasn't going to lie.

Today had been a particularly vile day. Being assaulted by criminal thugs in Paris hadn't been ideal so he ended up pursuing then, getting entangled in a wider gang shoot-out and taking the life of an especially disagreeable ringleader. Except it brought forth more problems... and opportunities that he didn't necessarily appreciate.

Hence why he was sitting before a French mobster wearing the most garish purple suit he had ever witnessed, hands clapping and elated at the scene of death and torture. Somehow the guy spoke in a British accent - must have been a British wizard in France then - and he kept rambling, rambling and rambling about how much he had heard about Albus. "Brilliant! Just as I expected! Sensational!"

"Are you okay?" Albus corked an eyebrow - it was really quite hard to suppress. "After all, I just killed one of your men."

"Oh Jacques and I were having a feud, he was very possibly trying to orchestrate a coup against me and you bumped into him at the perfect time and place..." The man waived off the questions with a whiff of nonchalance.

"Too perfect," Albus remarked. "Sounds almost... orchestrated."

"Oh don't say that! You make me sound like a bad person!" He flung his arms up high.

"Right, of course not. It was great meeting you, I'm glad my unfortunate scuffle leaves no bad blood between us," Albus said curtly as he stood up and headed towards the door.

"Hang on! Don't leave just yet!" With a flick of his wand, the door was bolted. "Apologies, I don't want to antagonize you, Albus, only a fool would do that, but rather, I would like to leave you with ... an offer."

"I'm not interested," Albus said as he took out his wand and was about to unlock the door in front of him. It was always the same, they would ask him to do them a favour, capture a person or two, run an errand for some nice cash - not this time though. Gangs were more difficult than individuals, they came with other entanglements too and he was feeling rather...uninterested, to say the least.

"I can give you what you want, Albus," the man insisted. "And it's only a small thing you'll need to do in return."

"You don't know what I want." _Alohamora, _he whispered.

"A chance, Albus, I can give you a second chance-"

"That's not what I want," Albus interjected bluntly. But there was a tingling sensation throughout his back. Could the man really mean - no. No one knew. Classical act of bluffing.

"All this contracting, this mercenary-like state of existence... It must be very tiring for you, Albus. Don't you ever long for the days when you were just an ordinary and upstart Auror? You could have been in your father's place now, had you stayed..."

The voice was familiar. He'd heard of it somewhere... some distant figment of his memory. It had to be...

"You're not French," Albus stated out of the blue.

"I- How is that-"

"I know who you are. I know who you used to be. And I know what you want and what you want to do. And I'm not interested."

"I have a powerful time turner... the last of them! If you ever want to contact me again... the offer is still on the table!" The man called behind him frantically as Albus quickly rushed away from the lair, like the tempting sound of a siren.


	15. Chapter 15

The aftermath of the Ministry break-in was an unprecedented public fallout for Hermione Granger's government, exceeding the worst of Albus' initial banishment. It did not matter that subsequent reports indicated that the intruder was not even Albus Potter, but an imposter. It did not matter that the intended object of retrieval was ultimately returned, under mysterious circumstances undisclosed by the Auror department. It did not matter that the captured intruders ultimately led the Aurors to a crime cell in Wales, which was swiftly dismantled.

All that mattered was that in the eyes of the public, the most dangerous man in the 21st century had escaped the clutches of the Aurors and the Ministry yet again.

Rumours flared up once. Some believed that there was a deliberate cover-up intended to save face and mask the general incompetence pervading the Aurors. Some believed that the authorities were deliberately downplaying the level of threat facing the public. Some believed that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had deliberately colluded to ensure Albus' escape - and this segment of the population, though a small vocal minority, was increasing. No one believed in the government's justifications.

There were protests in Diagon Alley, enraged witches and wizards demanding to know the truth. Opposition parties were openly calling for a general inquiry into the matter. There were calls to declassify secrets. Hermione's government was down in the polls and barely survived a no-confidence vote from her own disgruntled backbenchers.

Neil eyed all of this with frustration. It all seemed wrong - not simply by virtue of actually being wrong, but also because it seemed so planned, orchestrated by higher powers. There was something distinctly off about the way events unfolded, but he could not quite put a finger on it. Nothing made sense at all.

In fact, nothing made sense since the day he found an obliviated individual dumped right before the Auror Department, holding the very scroll that the intruders tried to steal the day before. No note, no notice, no nothing. On a personal level, all the blame on him (for being irresponsible and inebriated) was undone. Director MacLaggen was no longer scolding him and he no longer felt like shit for being responsible for the leak of state secrets. Cynthia sincerely appreciated his actions and helpful comments - they were in a much more amicable state.

At the same time, the world around him was in turmoil. Lily was still depressed and reportedly not eating well. Tobias was hospitalized - and temporarily replaced by Thomas MacLaggen at the orders of Harry Potter, which did not please Cynthia. Morrison was ... still Morrison, but also Morrison the conspiracy theorist who constantly sprouted rumours he overheard about the break-in being an inside job. ("I'm not suggesting that someone in the Ministry did it, but ...")

And his relationship with his brother, Lawrence, had descended into tatters.

Firstly, Lawrence did not appreciate being referred to an intense interrogation session by Director Thunberg.

Secondly, Neil did not appreciate his brother concealing crucial information about Albus Potter from him. Lawrence was evading questions about Albus and about what he was doing the after at Hogsmede - he was not even meant to be at Hogsmede, for Lawrence had drawn the short end of the stick and was designated with looking after their great-great-grandmother for the day. But that small slip of a tongue... He knew something was off. His brother was decent at Occlumency and at resisting interrogation. That much he was aware of. But these small signs, and simple intuition by Neil's part, suggested that not everything was as it seems.

Something had to be done. The path to truth lies through his brother - or his brother's fellow classmates. Every guy in Slytherin in Albus' graduating class - or at least most of them - were partially suspect.

Hence, Neil was now standing in front of a giant whiteboard, with the names of various individuals and lines connecting them mapped out, a convoluted web of illegality, dancing around Albus Potter. He had to have accomplices, witting or unwitting.

"But we don't know if the individual breaking in is Albus Potter at all," Cynthia said as she strolled in, gazing at Neil's notes. "Look all the evidence we have so far, the DNA testing of the intruders' blood, all of that... the person was pretending to be Albus! Neil, you've got to stop... I mean, not that I don't want to capture Albus, but it genuinely appears that he had nothing to do with the break-in."

"See that's what the government wants you to believe," Morrison conjecture as he strolled in. "I'm not saying that this has to be true but it's conceivable that they faked-"

"Morrison, I did NOT fake the unconscious body OR the scroll he was holding. For the last time, stop making shit up. Merlin's pants! This is serious-" Neil wanted to explode.

"Alright, alright... So... we're going to tell Lily, right? And try to comfort her and get her out of her current state. I mean, she's not been at work for the last couple of days, even if she knows by the news that it probably even wasn't Albus that attacked her-"

"Because of people like you spreading shitty conspiracy theories!" Neil retorted.

"I was only playing devil's advocate."

"Whilst unintentionally being the Devil himself," Cynthia snorted with rebuke. "Neil and I are planning to visit her. We're bringing chocolate and flowers. If you don't stop with all that nonsense then count yourself out."

"Alright, alright..."

Neil sighed, sagging his shoulders.

"What's the matter boss - woah that's a nice detailed map you got there... quite incriminating too, against your fellow housemates!"

"Will you shut up-"

"Not that I don't find him annoying, Neil, but what's your reasoning behind all of this?" Cynthia inquired, her brows furrowing.

"I... I have a feeling that Albus Potter was in England that day - and no, Morrison, he wasn't the one who orchestrated the break-in, but perhaps he was the one who finally caught the intruder. And before any of you say anything, I have with me a list of cases of attacks on our own Aurors," Albus explained as he pulled out a large folder. Waving his wand, sheets of paper floated around the room. "In every case where an Auror has failed to track down Albus Potter, he or she has had their recent memories wiped and, well, dumped at convenient places easy for authorities to locate. This was exactly the same thing that happened to that guy."

He paused to gauge the reactions of his two team members, who were frowning a little. "This sounds like a bit of stretch," Cynthia mused.

"Yes, but what's more is that my brother," Neil said as he pointed his wand to his brother's name," was at Hogsmede for Alumni Day. Now, he was supposed to be looking after our great-great-great-grandmother, but she was conspicuously asleep the entire day - and the day after, a likely reaction to a Sleeping Potion-"

"A) Are you suggesting your own brother was responsible for Albus' activities? and B) couldn't Lawrence have just wanted to chill with his friends? I mean, no one wants to spend Alumni Day with their ancient relative who is probably a, you know..."

"Yes, Morrison, that is the other possibility," Neil conceded. "And I know I'm making speculations based on spurious evidence and partly intuition, really. This is why I don't want any of you sharing anything with our superiors just yet. I don't want Director MacLaggen or, Merlin forbid, Director Thunberg, to get involved because that would really complicate things."

"So what's your plan?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm going to ask them myself."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I am a productive procrastinator. When I am supposed to write essays, I write fanfiction instead.**

* * *

Fear and guilt twirled around him like nefarious twin spirits, threatening to engulf him and cause him to plunge into panic. It took a few days for Nigel to digest just how serious his rendezvous with Uncle Albus was. He was stupid, he read the papers and he was not numb to all the surrounding chatter.

First, there was talk that Albus Potter broke into the Ministry of Magic and stole important documents. Then, the announcements were changed to reveal that the said intruder was actually an imposter. Then the furor, fear and backlash.

"I hope the incompetent Hermione Granger is voted out of office! Mum says she was decent when she first became Minister but she's growing increasingly out of touch!"

"Seriously, why are we skirting around the issue that Albus Potter is probably the most dangerous criminal the Wizarding World has witnessed since You-Know-Who? People these days are blind to the problem!"

"The Ministry needs to stop covering up for its mistakes — the people are not idiots!'

"Do they take us for fools? That's a really convenient location for a body to be dumped! Right in front of the ministry! Really! This is beyond insulting to our intelligence!"

"Harry Potter is really letting his love for his own son blind him! Let me tell you what should be done: immediate capture of Albus Potter and a life sentence to Azkaban!"

Being mindful that his family's reputation was at stake, Nigel somehow developed the ability to avoid critical questions.

He knew what people were saying about Uncle Albus. That other day, when Sophie had gathered a bunch Ravenclaws together in the Common Room to narrate her perspective of what occurred. "My father was hospitalized for weeks after a failed mission to retrieve Albus Potter and let me tell you, he does not mince his words when describing that man. According to him, Albus Potter had no problem with using all sorts of dark spells and murdered over one hundred people in the course of his life. Apparently, on the night of his escape — yes that night when we were all alerted about the Sons of Walpurgis — Albus Potter murdered his best friend and fiancé. There are some Aurors that even believe he was working for the Sons of Walpurgis the whole time. And I'm not even surprised!"

It was frustrating because he knew it was all false and yet he was too afraid to speak up, to challenge her. One because Sophie was an upperclassman with considerable clout, two because she was also friends with many of his friends and three because he did not want to be ostracized or arouse suspicion amongst his housemates. So he played along.

"It's just… I never thought this would happen to him. Dad said he never saw it coming," Nigel mumbled to his friends after an intense night-long conversation about current affairs.

"Not many did," Karen remarked with a hint of sympathy and understanding, "I know it must have been hard for your family."

"It was," Nigel conceded, frantically concealing his own conflicted views. Uncle Albus had always been nice to him and when they met again, he had given him tons of candy and seemed like a genuinely nice person. Part of him still wanted to tag along and travel the world.

"I hope there's no repeat of well, the Second Wizarding War," said Conrad, "Not that I think it's likely—"

"It absolutely is," Marius challenged him. "There are still many that covertly support You-Know-Who's ideals, that's why the Sons of Walpurgis gained so many supporters in the first place. Many old pureblood families — obviously not yours or yours"— he felt the need to assure Conrad and Nigel—"feel disgruntled by their loss of status in society. With the right kind of leader and figurehead, who knows what could happen. Which is why I instantly harbor a sense of distrust towards Slytherins, no offense Dorothea, not you of course."

"How's the talk like in your dormitory, Dory?" Conrad prodded, curious, though mildly insensitive towards how it might have come across.

"Not much," Dorothea said and after being met with silence, reassured, "I'm serious! Though most of us thought the problem with Albus Potter was blown out of proportion, I mean—"

"Out of proportion? Not to be rude or anything but when historians look back, this whole furor surrounding him is probably going to be an important chapter of events pertaining to this generation and era," Yiannis remarked, mildly incredulous.

"I am not saying — well, I mean, Analenna said her father said that Albus Potter actually protected his family from the Sons of Walpurgis when they refused to join it. But Albus Potter was too rough with his methods and the Aurors didn't like what he was doing so they banished him. Apparently, they went to school together, were in the same grade and they were buddies. Many think Albus Potter poses no threat to England, is not a Dark Lord wannabe and comparing him to You-Know-Who is ridiculous. Again, I'm not—" Dorothea uttered defensively when faced with accusatory glares.

"Okay, hang on a second, you are not suggesting that Albus Potter was innocent and the papers, the Aurors and, you know, every respectable pillar in the Wizarding World was wrong and this random girl in your house — known for its association and sympathy to Dark Wizards and Witches — was right?" Karen exclaimed

"No of course not! I'm just repeating what I said! All I'm saying is that some people hold different perspectives!"

"Yeah, well what can you say. They look after their own," muttered Marius.

"I'm not—"

"Guys, stop hounding in on her," Nigel finally found the courage to speak up. "She never said she agreed with those views."

"I never said she—"

"Let's play Exploding Snap instead, how does that sound?"

He felt relief was all over him as they all agreed, putting this uncomfortable conversation behind them. Another bullet dodged.

~X~

Lily had just gotten another text, this time from an unknown number. But the contents revealed the identity to her with no challenge.

_Is this Lily? This is Isadora. I was on your brother's Auror team as well as… well, your ex, Cynthia and Thomas. I work at the Department of Mysteries now though. I think I found evidence you would like to know._

She put her cellphone down again and took another sip of nutrients, which James, after hours of haggling, forced her to take and actually managed to cast a spell monitoring her progress. As if she was a baby.

She had locked herself up for over a week now and had no intention of listening to the news or stepping into the outside world. Work was taken care of by the fact that she was entitled to a month's paid leave per year anyway, courtesy to welfare legislation passed by her aunt.

A knock on her door.

"Lily? Is this Lily? This is Cynthia, Neil and Morrison! You haven't been to work for over a week and we're worried for you! You haven't been picking up calls or replying to texts either. We got you flowers and chocolate!"

Great.

She wished she could somehow convey it to them that all the lack of contact was deliberate. She did not wish to speak to them. In fact, she was in no mood to speak to anyone, James and his concerns be damned.

"Lily we know you're in there!" Morrison bellowed. "Take your time! We're in no rush!"

"For the last time, stop making her seem like a bad person if she's not answering," Lily could hear Neil's didactic voice lecturing the two of them, "She's going through a rough period and is entitled to take some rest."

"Lily you don't have to open the door or meet us today, but if you ever need to talk, we'll be here for you!" Cynthia shouted.

"That and your brother Albus probably even wasn't the person who attacked us in the Ministry," Morrison continued bellowing on the topic of his voice, "Ouch! Cynthia stop ribbing me! Ouch! Neil — boss, don't try to smack me — ouch—"

Lily's felt something drop inside of her. She rushed towards the door. "I'm listening," she said, huffing and puffing, facing three concerned teammates.

"See? That did the work!" Morrison bragged, puffing his chest.

"Morrison is right," Neil explained. "The attacker likely transfigured into Albus Potter. His unconscious body, along with the scroll capsule he was trying to steal, were found outside the Ministry by me. So that means the person who tried to attack you and kill all of us wasn't your brother."

Lily sighed and shut her eyes. This was supposed to relieve her, but the very fact that she found Albus behaving so violently a plausible scenario unnerved her. "I'm sorry I need some time to process this." She paused. "Then, what exactly happened? Is he innocent then?"

"Well, of the Ministry break-in, probably. Anyways, that's not what I came here for, but I hope you're doing okay…" Neil felt his voice trail off. She obviously wasn't. Her red hair was unkempt, her eyes were bloodshot, possibly from crying, her T-shirt had tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soup leftovers spilled all over it.

"I'm fine. You guys can come in," Lily offered. "It appears there's more that we can talk about than anticipated."

~X~

"You know Isadora?! How's she doing? I haven't heard from her for ages!" Cynthia exclaimed.

"Well, she's working as a researcher at the Department of Mysteries now," Lily said.

"That much I know."

"I only know that much," Lily quipped. "We've never talked but I just received a text message from her. She says that she's found 'evidence' that might interest me. I'm really not sure what it means."

"Cool, I'll keep that in mind," Neil remarked. "I've been… trying to work out all the connections, all the loose strings… it's all coming together, somehow—"

"It's all speculation, of course," Morrison noted.

"Yes, yes, but it's better than nothing and … ah shit! My parents are calling! Fuck! I feel like I forgot something…." Neil's voice trailed off warily as he frantically checked all his past unread text messages. "Fuck, I'm supposed to look after great-great-great gran…"

"The racist one?" Morrison said with a chuckle.

"Yes, that one."

~X~

Thomas MacLaggen was not happy about his temporary placement, though he sensed something similar would happen for a long time coming. Tobias would be hospitalized for more than a month due to the Cruciatus Cruse worsening his Maladictus-like symptoms. And Harry Potter was keen for him to firstly, keep track of Cynthia's progress, and secondly, he suspected, to keep a watch over Lily Potter.

He had not been fully introduced to the team yet because he was off in Europe for a security conference, but as he stepped through the immigration check-in, he wondered if not offering a stronger pushback against Head Auror Potter's insistence was a mistake.

~X~

Neil always hated spending time with his great-great-great (it was hard to keep track) grandmother Primrose Nott. Firstly because she was a bigot of the highest order who continuously complained about Muggles and Muggleborns, which made him feel like a bad person by association. Secondly, because it seemed that she never had anything nice to say about anyone whatsoever.

The Potters and Weasleys were, naturally, blood traitors and a deathblow to Wizardkind. Hogwarts was filled with left-wing nonsense and educating a new generation of blood traitors. Durmstrang, however, produced too many unstable and unintelligent idiots who were simply not up to the task of restoring the Wizarding World to its former grandeur. Mother and father are soft-brained airheads whose decadence was representative of the general decline of the Wizarding World. Lawrence was a mediocre pothead masquerading as a teacher who, again, was doing his part to consign the Wizarding race to the dustbin of history. The Malfoys were blood-sucking bankers and sellouts and blood-traitors now, apparently. The Lestranges, however, were too crazy and stupid for their own good. Her long-deceased husband Cantankerous Nott was a hypocrite who fulminated about blood-purity in public but privately entertained "little Muggle whores." Not even the former Dark Lord was spared for her incriminations, or as she would say, "That fraudulent little weasel of a half-blood… "

Hence why he groaned as he stepped into his old family home, ascending the stairs into her dusty little room. He used to always drew lots with Lawrence, as none of them wanted to look after her and their parents' patience can only last so long. Then they came up with more creative ways of determining who spends time with her, including broom racing, ice-cream eating, Wizard chess and creating 'viral' cat videos on this muggle thing called YouTube. Except now Lawrence was gone, off to America perhaps forever and also not on speaking terms with him anymore after a gratuitous session of both of them hurling vulgar verbal abuses at each other. Life was hard. His brother had complained that his connections and relationship with Albus Potter essentially saved their entire family from both being attacked by the Sons of Walpurgis and being suspected collaborators of the Sons of Walpurgis and that he had barely spoken with Albus Potter after the fiasco at the Ministry and certainly not during the day of recent break-in. ("But you guys communicated…." — "Once! Okay maybe twice! I had to at least thank him!") It was pointless.

"Hi gran, sorry I'm late, I was at my friend's house and forgot about the time. Mom called me and I rushed here right away—"

"With that vile muggle device?"

"I mean, yeah with the mobile phone—"

"Wizardkind is doomed."

"Whatever you say, gran."

"Did you know, your cousin — that idiot Vacillius — tried to escape from prison again? I told him a long time ago there's no point in saving us purebloods anymore. Soon there will be none left."

"Alright then. I mean, purebloods were never a majority even in the Middle Ages—"

"Nonsense! Is that what they teach you at Hogwarts?"

"No, I, ugh, read and research—"

"You need to read better!"

"Okay gran."

"Tell me, are you seeing anyone?"

"I see people every day."

"No, I meant a girl! A wonderful pureblood girl who would bear me wonderful great-great-great pureblood grandchildren! Even if it's a mere drop in the ocean of this… this filthy cauldron of barbarity."

"No."

"Pity."

"She'll come when she comes. I have other focuses."

"What with that dastardly organization known as the Aurors?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I've seen the furor. It's a load of nonsense! There's no way that Potter-son is a Dark Lord or terrorist or criminal. Anyone with brains could tell! He's far too full of himself to be dangerous."

"Have you met him?"

"No."

"Then how would you know—"

"I was just speculating. And I'm always right."

"No, you were not right about Voldemort—"

"Oh but I was! I knew he would fail and I never supported the Death Eaters!" She exclaimed matter-of-factly. Neil found it bizarre. "What, a half-blood leading an organization promoting the existence of purebloods, it was never going to work!"

"Sure, sure…" He mumbled, not wanting to start another aimless argument.

"Besides, he dabbled in some very Dark Magic. And by Dark Magic, I don't mean the ridiculous restrictions and standards set by the dastardly imbecilic governments in recent times — no. This… He crossed the line for many who would otherwise whole-heartedly support the cause. Although I must confess, I never knew about this until after he died."

"Oh? What kind of magic is off-limits even for you? I mean, I've seen you use the Killing Curse on spiders and flies just because they annoyed you—"

"They were spiders and flies! Besides… that was once! Once! And your mother and father thought I was insane afterwards. Nonsense! No— no, I am, of course, speaking about a Horcrux."

"A Horcrux? What is that?"

"Oh, the dim mind of the young generation. Never mind that, it's the one thing that I'm happy about you lot not knowing. They're terrible, foul things borne from murder but also profoundly unnatural… You kill someone and encase your torn soul in an object. And he's made seven of those apparently!"

"Horcruxes, you say?"

"Yes, do you need me to repeat that word ten-thousand times. Anyways, best if you forget it. It's not worth knowing. You know, I reckon that the new aspiring Dark Lord, the one your idiotic cousin was following, was trying to make one too— Kept asking your cousin to look for important rare objects. Such a stupid idea—"

"YES!" Neil felt as if he had stumbled upon something important. "The new one— you mean the head of the Sons of Walpurgis?"

"Well, yes—"

"The one whose identity was still unknown."

"Unknown and likely unimportant. This Dark Lord was even more useless than the last—"

"Eureka!"

"— couldn't even take over the Ministry."

"Alright, alright, I see. Anyways, I think I'll get some biscuits from downstairs for both of us. Love you gran!"

"Well that's a first." She looked piqued and amused at the same time.

* * *

**A/N: Would really appreciate any comments in the reviews! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

"What do you mean Albus murdered his fiancé? How come I don't remember any of this—"

"Cynthia, I didn't either, but that scroll — as soon as I read what was in it, all the memories came flooding back! It's like— I remembered that night, two dead bodies were found near the veil— Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter's fiancé. I— that's what the Ministry is hiding from everyone— I can't quite— remember what they told the public? Albus Potter murdered over 20 people — mostly neo-Death Eaters —in the Department of Mysteries, broke the Auror code, hid from the authorities and was to be brought to trial in Azkaban? I—" Isadora was stumbling through words, muddling through her newly elucidated memories.

"Hang on a minute Isadora," Cynthia remarked, frowning, feeling rather caught off-guard. "Are you implying that the Ministry erased our memories? What about Thomas and Don? What about—"

"I don't know. In fact, I— look — I'm sorry, Cynthia. I'm sorry I haven't been in contact with all of you guys I— I just couldn't do it anymore, being an Auror and all that. I needed a permanent break so I became a researcher instead but — but I think it could also have something to do with the fact that I stopped remembered a LOT of things about you guys — it's like this giant gaping hole. I—"

"You're not the only one," Cynthia snorted, then appeared rather apologetic for being uncouth, "I don't mean it that way. Thomas has been consistently avoiding human conversation with me... always addressed Neil instead and pretended I didn't exist."

"Wow that sucks."

"A jerk indeed."

"Do you think he remembers anything?"

"Who knows?" She shrugged.

~X~

"A Horcrux!" Neil beamed as he addressed his team. "The head of the Sons of Walpurgis was trying to make a Horcrux! I think—"

"Neil I would appreciate it if you did not belt out names of Dark Wizards and Dark Objects in such an excited manner within the premise of my home," Morrison complained, trying to hush everyone up. "My twin brother is still napping and my other roommate is doing Merlin knows what in his bedroom with another woman."

"No you guys don't understand — whoever the head of the Sons of Walpurgis is, and the identity is unknown so far, but I think — never mind — we now know what they wanted. We now—"

"Okay, first things first, what is a Horcrux?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah what's a Horcrux?" Morrison repeated. "I only figured it was something bad because it sounded evil."

"It's when you kill someone, split your soul, put it in an object and become immortal," Neil explained briskly to skeptical faces. "Well, that's what my great-great-great gran says…"

"Hang on, was she the one who told you this new former new — whatever, Dark Lord was trying to make a Horcrux?" Morrison frowned.

"Correct."

"And you believe her…?"

"I don't see why not, but I cross-referenced that with a few books I brought from Knockturn Alley just to be sure and —"

"Neil, you did what?!"

"Yes, I had to be certain and I tried asking around the Department of Mysteries but no one I knew had that kind of access. I even tried asking Isadora but she was way below clearance level for that kind of stuff so I had to take my chances—"

"You asked her —"

"No I didn't specifically ask her about Horcruxes. Never mind. Point is, it made sense. And for your information, the books I got didn't have anything to do with the instructions needed to make one. It was an alternative history book about the 'secrets' of the Second Wizarding War. It supposedly contains a lot of information classified by the Ministry and was written by an anonymous source within the Department of Secrets," Neil explained patiently.

"And you call me a conspiracy theorist!" Morrison protested. "Okay, okay, I'll take you at your word. So far you seem sane."

"And what were the 'secrets' about the Second Wizarding War?" Lily frowned, probably wondering if her parents had anything to hide.

"Well, Voldemort made about seven Horcruxes and your dad had to destroy, well, every one of them in order to actually kill him," Neil said.

"Seven! Blimey!" Morrison gasped.

"That's horrible!"

"Too much even for gran— and that's saying something. Though there was no evidence or indication so far that the unknown aspiring Dark Lord succeeded in making one."

"What if... Albus Potter was trying to make ..." Cynthia seemed hesitant to even finish the sentence.

"My brother wouldn't do that! Also, you're not implying he's behind the Sons of Walpurgis are you?!" Lily was suddenly indignant.

"No, of course not!" Cynthia protested. "But some parts of the evidence do add up. Albus Potter killed his fiancé and Scorpius Malfoy. In front of the veil. On top of a bunch of other people—"

"There's no evidence he killed Scorpius Malfoy— or his fiancé," Neil was about to say.

"Oh but there is, that's what Isadora told me when we met up," Cynthia insisted. "More than that, I was there that night — and so was the rest of the team. But our memories were obscured. I— I saw the dead bodies. All 19 of them, which included his fiancé and Scorpius Malfoy."

"Oh Merlin..." Lily's face acquired a sudden pallour. "I..."

"It's okay... it's okay... This is all just, speculation," Morrison tried to comfort her.

"Is there a bin somewhere? I think I'm going to puke."

~X~

"Your teammate Tobias is still incapacitated. In the meantime, I'll be his replacement," Thomas announced (possibly through gritted teeth) to the group. Not all of them were pleased, Neil noticed, particularly Cynthia.

"Welcome abroad," Neil responded curtly before going up to shake the Director's hand. It was the most polite thing to do. There was a quick glimpse between him and Cynthia and Morrison.

"Does this mean you'll be in charge instead of him?" Morrison blurted out, curious. He received a covert kick from one of his teammates— as to which one, he wasn't paying enough attention to determine that, but the suspects are numerous...

"Oh of course not! I have full faith in Neil Nott's … leadership qualities. Just treat me like one of you guys," Thomas said with a slightly contrived grin.

"Well, thanks. That's more than I do," Neil said with a snort.

"Only because he's had none in the first place," Cynthia couldn't resist a joke.

"Ah, I see, she's as insubordinate as usual."

Somehow that made everyone laugh.

~X~

"Why in Merlin's pants is he here?! He's going to ruin everything! Our plans to investigate Darius and Duke Greengrass, Douglas Bulstrode, Lucas Lowe, Cornelius Mulciber and Hector McDougall — and your brother —"

"Will still be in place," Neil assured her. "We'll just have to be more discreet about it. We've already enlisted the help of your ex-teammate Isadora. She'll be able to do things we can't under the watch of the Aurors. Don't worry."

"All that is easier said than done."

"I'm meeting up with Douglas Bulstrode tomorrow, just a short chat. We know each other through Quidditch — I have friends on his team and play with each other during Alumni Days. He won't suspect it's not about Quidditch," Neil explained. "Then I'm going to see Darius and ask about, well, medicinal herbs and whether anything can be done about the Maladicti. No I didn't tell him anything about Tobias, don't worry. It'll be a chill conversation. After that, I'm going to bring flowers, chocolates and Amazon gift cards to my brother as a way of apologizing for out previous argument. But for that I'll be in America so probably a weekend."

"Sounds, thought-out. So far."

"Well, it better be. I'm trying to not make it all seem like an obvious interrogation because these people are good at hiding stuff."

"Mhmm..."

"But I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at grasping hints and unearthing secrets."

"And in the meantime Lily's going to be interviewed by Lucas Lowe for the Wizarding Weekly, she's just gotten a confirmation from him. All that stuff about being Harry Potter's daughter at the Aurors, family legacy, favorite biscuit, romantic life etc. Typical shit the public are interested in and what Albus Potter never gave them," Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. "Then she's being interviewed by the Daily Prophet's Hector McDougall on her opinion about the recent developments in the Ministry. Given how glad both were to gain interview opportunities, none of them would suspect anything.. She's got it all planned."

"While Morrison has somehow wrangled a shadowing opportunity for his brother's legal team, who are working on a copyright case with Cornelius Mulciber's band. They said they wanted an Auror staying for a couple of days with them anyway for Merlin knows what. And I matched with Duke Greengrass on Tinder. We are going to a romantic dinner this Friday," Cynthia noted wryly, not exactly amused at her end of the deal. "This better work."

* * *

**A/N: Is it all coming together? Are they finally coming close to figuring out what's happened? Fun fact: no one but Albus really knows what truly happened. And can they really keep it all away from Thomas? **


	18. Chapter 18

The sands of time swirled through his mind... It seemed to take shape - no. It was only his imagination. The Sahara desert was not usually his preferred travel destination, but it was far away from his normal area of operations and, right now, that was precisely what he needed. After much thought, and days of isolating himself from human contact entirely, Albus decided that he needed to earn some income, all while paying a visit to a mystical oasis that he had so often read about.

It was a scorching hot day but the problem was defused by a quick cooling charm. There's nothing more satisfying than a shade under the scorching heat, coupled with a glass of cold water. He sensed footsteps, streams of consciousness, in the surroundings. Nothing magical though, as it appeared to be the passing of a Tuareg rider. Should it need be, Albus had the ability to disguise himself.

He struggled to shake off the thought of the time turner, perpetually lingering in the corners of his mind. It is not as if he wasn't aware of the perils of time traveling and creating potential paradoxes— but part of him scoffs at the prospect of imperiling the present. The present offered him nothing. He was an isolated man, with a few tenuous contacts and commercial contracts here and there, perhaps a few old friends who did not think ill of him, a little nephew who had not yet figured out what a shitty human being he is and parents who—

No. It had been weeks, months, even years since Albus last pondered about Harry and Ginny Potter. How was Head Auror Potter, indeed? His latest glimpse of the papers seemed to indicate that the man was alive and well, but how well really was dad? Maybe there was an element of guilt but Albus could not bring himself to comprehend it. He had screwed up in every possible way and chances of reconciliation were waning— blood may be thicker than water but blood ties are meaningless when stretched to thin. No doubt Harry viewed him as an international criminal that must be hunted down. Was he heartbroken —? And Ginny, mother, bless her, what would she think of him now? Ginny, who was always so accommodating, so understanding, no doubt she would want to disown him too if she had known the truth. Both his parents, did they know?

But if he had that Time Turner, would he be able to fix everything? A quick act of drugging Delphi on that fateful day, coupled with a few targeted assassinations, pre-warnings, quick reconciliation with Scorpius—

He was getting ahead of himself, letting his imagination run wild. But what if it were true? What if something could be done?

He would be home for Christmas, chatting merrily with his father about the happenings of the world, getting admonished like a child by his mother over another round of playful banter with James, as Lily laughs in the corner… He'd be able to meet his nieces and nephews in a not so illicit situation — he had picked up from the tabloids that James had had even more children, the madman — and maybe even have children of his own, being doted uncontrollably by Grandma Weasley. Rose and Scorpius would be there too and it would be as if nothing had happened. It would —

What would they say if they came face to face with him today?

~X~

The shadowing project with Cornelius Mulciber transpired to be the most fruitless endeavor in the entirety of Morrison's (short) life. Apparently, the lead singer was paranoid about being attacked by gangsters hired by rival record producers. There appears to be no other clue of illegality. Such is the way. On the bright side, he had a lot of time to spend with his brother.

"So brother, tell me how is your job at the Aurors going?" Cedric Wilders, Morrison's insufferable twin brother, inquired. "I know intellectually, it's less of a challenge than navigating the nooks and crannies of the English justice system…"

~X~

The conversation was Douglas Bulstrode was interesting, if rather unfruitful so far, vacillating between talk on Quidditch and Douglas chiding Neil for not pursuing a career in Quidditch. "Honestly Neil, I was with you at Alumni Day. You could've been one of the best Seekers on the market… Man, don't know what you're thinking. What does your brother say?"

"Same thing," Neil admitted, biting his lip. Ah Lawrence… They have not spoken since that night — although his brother had begrudgingly agreed to receive him in America after Neil wrote a letter of apology. "I'll have to admit, I really missed playing Quidditch. It's nice seeing everyone that day too. So many faces to catch up with… so much has changed. Some of my classmates are doing things I would never have imagined."

"Yeah, at least your year didn't produce an international criminal."

There was an awkward silence. Neil had planned to bring up the topic of Albus Potter more subtly than that, but it seemed like the guy before him was already eager to talk.

"Look, Neil, I like you, you seem like a cool guy, but let's be real. I saw the news and I'm not blind to the kerfuffle around us. You wanted to ask me about Albus Potter."

"Well, Douglas, if you say so," Neil admitted, "Have you heard anything about him?"

"Probably inasmuch as you have," came the explanation, " I know you're not some sort of Legilimens, like Albus, but I assure you I have no intention of deceiving you. But no, I have not been in touch with Albus Potter since"— Neil felt himself tense, anticipating Douglas's next words —"since, well, the fiasco at the Ministry all the years ago."

"I take it that you were in touch with him before, like my brother was," Neil said, trying to prod for answers. "I was at Hogwarts so I wasn't with my family 24/7, but I knew the Sons of Walpurgis, everyone did. It was all the talk in our House. Mostly people who are terrified, concerned about their families out there… They were trying to recruit everyone, but everyone was more afraid than anything else—"

"Indeed, I received a lot of unsolicited mails and calls," Douglas responded. "It's… hard, dealing with them all. They started small but pretty soon they were threatening my parents too. I mean— By the way I can personally attest that Albus Potter is in no way connected to the Sons of Walpurgis. He did his best to pass on important information to me and all of his friends to forewarn us about potential attacks and members. He was also committed to everyone's safety and even suggested Auror protection. Of course I never took that up because things were never too serious for my family. We were never exactly Death Eaters."

That brought back certain unpleasant memories for Neil. "My family did, actually," Neil explained almost to himself, "You know— with our history... Of course, mother and father seriously considered relocating to safe place in Mallorca, but my brother reckoned that would not have been enough to keep them safe. They reached him all the way in America. I was still in Hogwarts so they thought I would be safe, but — I — I did receive threatening messages and although no one I knew was particularly sympathetic to the Sons of Walpurgis, you can never be sure." He swallowed inadvertently, shutting his eyes and recalled the hushed halls of Hogwarts after someone had been attacked at Hogsmeade. The Dark Mark had shot through the sky, radiating nauseating green light. "But you know, at the same time, people were suspecting my family too. After all, our history is not as untainted as yours or other milder pureblood families. Even after we requested the help fo the Aurors. Mother suspected that they agreed in part to keep an eye on us. I had to meet with this guy— well, he's a director now — Director MacLaggen — actually, he's on my team but that's a story for another time — once every few weeks. He kept asking me question after question after question... Sometimes almost accusatorily... It sucks. Not being trusted and all. By anyone."

"Wow," Douglas said before Neil realized this was the first time he really had the chance to convey these feelings out loud. "Sounds like you got issues."

"Look, I'm not saying I joined the Aurors to prove anything — but"— one look at Douglas's skeptical face salted it —"Okay maybe that was part of the reason. Only a small part. Quidditch was fun but Quidditch players party way too hard for my liking — no offense!"

"You know Neil, you're supposed to be the one interrogating me," Douglas commented with a small, wry and amused smile. "I appreciate your heartfelt honesty, but I am afraid I don't think I can give you any information that would've helped except that I have strong suspicions that your brother has been in touch with Albus Potter, if only intermittently."

"And why is that?" Neil had possessed such speculations himself, but he needed to pull out concrete reasoning.

"Well, they were fairly good friends — not as close as Albus and Scorpius back in the day, but quite close, if only after Second-Year, when all the feuding and mutual bullying stopped because our Potions Master insisted on pairing them together in class," Douglas said, "No but that day — during Alumni day, your brother was there with us and he seemed ... off. We were all in the stands, but he left for Hogsmeade earlier than us. Said he wanted to save us a place at the bar. I arrived soon after the Quidditch match actually to maximize my chances of stocking up butterbear before the place gets too crowded and your brother was alone. Look I'm not 100% sure about it all but the seat next to him was still warm. And he looked like he was sweating a lot and had just dodged a bullet. Maybe, just maybe, he met up with someone?"

"Albus Potter?"

"Perhaps. Who else would it be?"

'Well, there's a lot of people my brother could've clandestinely met up with. But then again he wasn't even supposed to be at Hogwarts. He was supposed to be looking after great-great grandma— yes, that one." They both chuckled. "All of this is spurious evidence of course, but thank you for your time."

"Hey don't leave yet, there's a match between the Horned Hornets and the Holyhead Harpies. Watch it with me," Douglas offered, grinnning.

~X~

Nervously, Lily Luna Potter, knocked. She had never been particularly close with her brother's friends, although they were mostly on cordial terms. Back in Hogwarts, Albus rarely spent any time with her and their family in Gryffindor, preferring company in the dungeons. But still, both Lucas and Hector were very eager to interview her. It wasn't just any interview that she promised — it would be long, intimate and personal conversations, the first of its kind regarding the Potter family. No taboos.

"How is it, growing up as the daughter of Harry Potter?"

"Pretty normal, actually. I never really bothered with all the press and paparazzi. I had a very happy childhood, great family, great friends. Sure, I'd be worried about dad at the Aurors from time to time but nothing too serious, at least back when I was younger."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not now. I've had a few relationships in the past. None of them worked out too well."

"How many?"

"Five … I think?"

"Why are you an Auror? Did you not like working at 's?"

"Well, I enjoyed my time there but being a purely medical Healer wasn't the path for me. I prefer my current job now where I get to work more on the field."

"Ah, the Potter legacy?"

"I'm not sure you could put it that way?"

"How is James Potter doing?"

"My brother is very well—"

"Can you comment on the Daily Prophet's column about his tax evasion activities?"

"His what?!"

"Oh come on Hector, it's long been a disproven story!"

"I just want her perspective on things!"

"Well my perspective says that James Potter is not involved in any tax evasion, especially considering how my sister-in-law is an active member of the Tax Enforcement division… And he's not keeping any money from her!"

"Do you play Quidditch? I think I remember seeing you on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"Well yes, I was a Chaser, just like my mother."

"Is Ginny well?"

"Yes. Very much."

"Is Rose well?"

"Not bad considering all she went through in the past few years."

"Blue or red?"

"Are you asking me about my colour preferences…?"

"Applebee Arrows or Puddlemore United?"

"A close one, but I think Puddlemore would take the trophy this year."

"What's your Patronus like?"

"Dude, that's a private question—"

"It's okay, I don't mind. It's a ferret."

"Ah."

"Have you, like, ever tried pulling the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sort Hat?'

"Lucas, what kind of question is that?!"

"I want to know! Remember how we all failed to do it back in Sixth Year and got into trouble?"

"That's because we aren't Gryffindors smartypants!"

"No, I haven't..."

"If you are stuck on a deserted island, what are the three non-essential items you would bring along?"

"Lucas, that's an even stupider question—"

"A subscription to the Weekly Herbology Magazine, nail polish to pass the time and maybe a pet cat?"

"Tame."

"Be nice!"

"Do you think your father will keep his position for long?"

"I'm sorry I'm not sure what you mean by that—"

"With the current political furore, with the—"

"Ah I see what you mean. The truth is you never know, my dad's been through a lot I don't think—"

"What Lucas is saying, I take, is that do you think Harry Potter will suffer from the political fallout following the Auror department's complete inability to rein in Albus Potter?"

"Be more discrete Hector! Albus is her brother! That and—"

"Oh shut up!"

"You shut up and let her speak!"

"Gentlemen, all I can say is that my father and the rest of the Auror department, myself included, are doing their best to ensure the safety of England and the rest of the Wizarding World. But this is no ordinary challenge—"

"Okay but is your dad deliberately hiding Albus Potter from trouble? What is your view on all the theories propagated by Secret News? I'm not trying to be accusatory because I know you're all decent people but what's your opinion?"

"What theories?"

"Well, the one about Harry Potter letting your brother slip away instead of capturing him and placing him in Azkaban."

"But that's nonsense!"

"Well, understandably, the news market nowadays is full of misinformation…"

"Do you still talk to your brother?"

"Hector! Don't ask her that!"

"No. Do you guys?"

"No," both of them echoed swiftly.

"Someone is still keeping in contact with him, apparently. That's what some theories in the Auror department are presupposing."

"Wouldn't be surprised. Dude, Lucas, I'm very sure Albus was in Hogwarts back when —"

"What even are you suggesting?"

"My cousin's daughter said there was a lockdown that night and some student sneaked into the Library's Forbidden Section— but what if it isn't just 'some student'?"

"How are you even getting all of this information?"

"It's all heresy and as an individual who is very sensitive to the standards of journalistic integrity—"

"Oh cut it…"

"Okay I enjoy hearing about Hogwarts gossip, okay? My cousin's daughter, such a sweet girl by the way, told me she overheard a conversation between a Librarian and her Head of House about a missing book. Apparently it's full of stuff about the Dark Arts and some professors doing high level research wanted to use it only to find that it was gone—"

"Yo, remind me again, why did you keep this from everyone?"

"I didn't! You never asked! No one ever asked! Besides, it's just a rumor!"

"Ugh! Sorry Lily, lets keep up with the interview, I'll handle the guy later…"

~X~

When Neil met Darius for tea, he made sure to request a small vial of Versiraterum beforehand from the medical department. Not everyone was going to be as helpful as Douglas.

"There's no confirmed cure for the Maladicti but I know St. Mungo's does possess the required herbs and potions to mitigate their symptoms," Darius explained after Neil began asking.

"Yeah, I'm just really concerned for a friend," Neil replied. "But I wonder if it's possible to, well, find a way to delay the transformation?"

"Neil, I've traversed the Amazon forest and began a totem documenting all the rare herb species there and — there might be something. I met with secretive pockets of Wizarding communities and there's a type of root that reportedly slows down the transformation. Chutt," Darius said, swallowing, as if he was resisting something — the truth? — "Yes, the name is Chutt. They specialize in unorthodox healing methods and related Herbology. I knew about it because—"

The man looked visibly uncomfortable.

"Are you alright?" Neil appeared concerned. (He was, but he knew that this was also a possible effect of the Versiraterum.)

"— Albus Potter sent me a letter talking about it. I— I've not been in contact with him otherwise. I don't even know where he is but for some reason, the guy occasionally sends me postcards and letters. Maybe to be nice. I don't know. I actually tried asking about the Wizards in Chutt about him but it appears that their memories were wiped when I visited. Oh Merlin... You— Oh Neil, did you do something to my tea?!"

_Shit_.

* * *

**A/N: Staying home because of Coronavirus has given me a new impetus to procrastinate on Fanfiction. **

**COMING NEXT... Cynthia's date, the Nott brothers reunite (and feud), Nigel navigates Hogwarts, Thomas figures out something is quite wrong and the Potters congregate for Christmas :D**


	19. Chapter 19

Cynthia heaved a sigh as she observed the man before her. Duke Greengrass seemed agreeable enough: not a bad man aesthetically, with a rather warm smile and a raucous laugh. He was celebrity chef, that much she knew. He had his own restaurant and produced cookbooks that her mother loved - though Cynthia suspected the appeal had a more ... rudimentary dimension. Such is the case for bored housewives. In the hypothetical scenario where a relationship does work out for them, she knew her mother would approve.

"As I was saying, these scallops were seared pretty well, but personally, I'd say there needs to be more seasoning in the butter. It has to be just right," Duke described the food on their platter assiduously, as if comparing it with his own achievements.

"Oh I'm sure you'll make them much better. I'll be sure to visit your restaurant some day, I've actually been meaning to go for a long time," Cynthia remarked - except, you know, _I was kind of staying at home and submerged in a state of depression for a long while and now I'm too busy with work._

"I remember you from our Hogwarts days, you were the Chaser on Gryffindor's Quidditch Team," Duke moved seamlessly into personal introductions.

"4-1. Take that," Cynthia said with a wry smirk.

"Now I'll remind you that Slytherin did manage to win the Quidditch cup 5 out of the 7 years when we were in Hogwarts - and more after that as well-"

"Oh come on, first year doesn't count, none of us were on the team -" They were both smiling.

"Well, as a former Seeker, I will concede that Gryffindor often had the upper hand against us. But somehow you guys always managed to lose to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Beats me."

"Ah, the good old days..."

"I mean, we could still follow quidditch on TV or go to a match some day. The World Cup is coming up soon and I reckon England finally has a good shot this time round..."

"That's what people say every year."

"Well, if you say one thing many times, some time, it is bound to be right!"

"That's one way of viewing things."

"I guess - speaking of which, I do need to gather my old housemates for a quidditch viewing some day," Cynthia remarked, partly to herself as well, "It's been a while since we last hosted a reunion. You gave me the perfect idea."

"Ah reunions, I met with my friends a few weeks ago, just before Alumni Day. Didn't get to go to that one though. Good times. It's surprising where people end up too, you know. You think they're going one way at Hogwarts, then they go out and do something completely different. I never thought about being a chef; I've always wanted to study Ancient Runes..."

"What brings the career change?"

"Couldn't get a job." Duke snorted. "Not that I minded, I love what I'm doing now."

"I guess I can't really relate. I've always wanted to be an Auror since Fifth-Year."

"Dedication is an admirable trait. I wish I knew what I wanted to do... Coming to think of it though, not many people knew what they wanted to do. Spontaneity can be a gift from life," Duke mused.

They went on and on about their lives, interests and opinions. It was a rather amiable conversation that Cynthia admittedly really enjoyed. The guy seemed like a chill person she would actually date - but there was work to do and pressing questions to ask. Except she did not know where or how to slip them in. And in all honesty, she wanted this to go on as naturally as it takes. It has been a while since she last went on a date and given the state of her mind in the past few years, she was not exactly looking for a boyfriend either. But even before, with her all-consuming job as an Auror, none of her dates went anywhere. There were a few flings here and there but all romantic sentiments simply petered out without much tending effort.

Admittedly, she had a crush on several of her colleagues before. Nothing too serious.

Albus Potter was one initially: she thought him amicable, attractive and witty. Obviously a poor judge of character given hindsight but even after a few months of working with him, she realized there was a certain distance he put around him. Professional but never really letting his personal side slip, with a hint of paranoia and madness, coupled with, of course, brilliance, that only really became apparent after that night.

Thomas MacLaggen was a more raw subject. They often grabbed lunch and coffee together, not to mention all the all-nighters they pulled at the office alone when working on an assigned deadline. They also went to the same house at Hogwarts, played on the same Quidditch team and were placed on the same training course at the Aurors. Perhaps all of his signs were just a mirage, conjured up by Cynthia's oversensitive instincts because ultimately, it never went anywhere. Sure, they commiserated together when Albus had left (was kicked out of) the Aurors and all the talks ultimately led to a few drunken nights together, whispering comforts and fucking senselessly until they forgot everything. But after the disastrous incident in Romania when they failed to capture Albus, he grew more distant and began ignoring her calls and rejecting further invitations to hang out outside of work. After her probation, he cut her off entirely. Perhaps she reminded him of things he'd rather forget. Yet it never really was a relationship; there was no formal acknowledgement, just a few one-night stands that were naturally assumed to be friends with benefitting having fun. And now when they met again, now when he's temporarily assigned to her team, he was reticent to speaking with her but, otherwise, acting as if nothing had happened. No explanation. No anything. No -

"You look disturbed," Duke observed.

"Sorry, I was just a little distracted by... certain unpleasant memories. Thinking about how old friends just kind of drift away. Well, more like an old friend who's drifted away and now drifted back. We all have these."

"Indeed. I barely keep in touch with my olds friends from Hogwarts. Just my brother and Hector. I wonder how it would've been like if we all met again - I mean, not all of us could but it would be something. I didn't even make it to Alumni Day. Had a cooking show schedule that clashed. I hosted a competition that was broadcasted across Ireland. The Weekly Witches' Conundrum. It's about middle-aged witches who can't cook trying to learn a recipe in 3 hours. I'm often a guest there for some reason. A shame though, would have loved to watch the Quidditch match."

_Noted. _Cynthia would cross-check his claims with other sources. But if he really wasn't even there then that's another name off.

"...Then again, my brother told me I would have missed out a lot of other drama. Albus Potter reportedly snuck back into England that day. A blessing in disguise, I guess."

"The turmoils of life never end."

"Well, let's move onto a more cheerful topic, shall we?"

They both smiled.

~X~

Lawrence waved his last student goodbye and sighed as he gazed at the family picture on his desk. He had been feuding with his brother for weeks now. Admittedly, Neil had every right to be sceptical, frustrated and angry with him but, at the same time, his blasted little brother just had to let out a stream of inebriated blather that landed Lawrence in an interrogation. He just had to get so worked up about the case with Albus Potter. Admittedly, it was - well, Lawrence did not regret his role in helping the guy escape and providing cover from time to time. He wished he never had began doing it, given all the apparent troubles it brought, but the guy did help his family navigate the turmoil surrounding the (old) new Dark Lord and never really tried to harm anyone he cared about.

Nevertheless, it pained Lawrence to conceal everything from his little brother. Little Neil, so eagerly working on his case and probably onto something important. But Lawrence did not want to reveal anything - how would he even begin? Given all the tacit conversations he had with his fellow housemates. It appeared he was the only one of them that still kept a regular correspondence with Albus and that could incur criminal charges. But that had stopped. After Alumni Day, Lawrence finally decided to cut all ties and Albus was understanding. Imagine: all the work, all the credence and reputation built up as the Charms Professor at Ilvermorny wiped away by a decision that made perfect sense all these years ago.

No.

Could he face his brother?

Could he?

Yes. When the time is right, he would sit his brother down and explain everything. When the time is right.

~X~

Neil entered Professor Nott's office in Ilvermorny with a box of chocolates and an apology letter memorized inside his head. He would be exceptionally nice, exceptionally police and exceptionally self-flagellating. He needed to get Lawrence to talk. Anything meaningful - not just because Lawrence could reveal something seminal to the case he was working on but also because Lawrence was his brother. His flesh and blood. And at the end of the day, no matter how much they argued, they always made up and cared for each other. It's not emotionally manipulative to do such a thing, right?

"Ah, there you are Neil. How are the toils of the Auror department weighing on you?"

Neil instinctively rubbed his eyes, laden with dark circles. Sleep deprivation was kind of the point of being an Auror. "Nothing unusual," he remarked. "A lot on my mind actually, but it happens when you're in charge of a team in the Auror's."

"At least you're not in charge of rowdy school children," Lawrence chuckled.

"There's always a bright side to everything," Neil mused. "I missed you brother."

"Me too, Neil. I guess I have some apologies to make. But - but you'll have to listen to me explain everything. I - I don't know where to begin."

"Wherever you feel comfortable," Neil nudged encouragingly.

"It's really not what you think, Neil. It's - you are familiar with the Sons of Walpurgis?" There was a pause as Lawrence waited for a reaction. "I know you were still in Hogwarts during their early days and by the time your Auror training was over, well, it wasn't a threat anymore. But surely, you've picked things up from all the chatter?"

"Indeed, I'm not going to lie, I was terrified of them. Not that - well, I'm sure you can sympathize Lawrence, I simply had no desire to be associated with them, but you know that's kind of impossible. But then if you turn them away, they become a threat to you and you still have to deal with all the suspicions from everyone else. Above all though, I just wished they would disappear, I mean so life would be easier for me and us. Okay, I sound awfully opportunistic but I-"

"Oh Neil, don't be. We're on the same boat. Mom and dad wanted to book a secret location in Mallorca and wait things out."

"That's kind of why I stuck with being an Auror in the first place. Not to prove I'm not evil or anything - I actually do enjoy the things and skills involved - but so I can live a life of clarify, you know? I don't like being approached by shady dark wizards asking me to join their cause, it's creepy and I'd rather they know that I'll always be opposed to them than appear as some ambiguous target." It felt good to get things out of his chest. He froze. He was talking too much, way too much . It was supposed to be the opposite "And yes I was approached by the Sons of Walpurgis, multiple times."

"So have I, that's why I stayed in America."

"I thought you actually liked teaching."

"Well, of course I did. I wouldn't still be here otherwise."

"How about you? Are you faring better with your team of misfits?"

"Splendidly," Neil retorted.

Lawrence laughed.

"No, I really mean it! We started out rough, but they're wonderful. I wouldn't trade them with anyone else. Cynthia, Lily, Morrison, Tobias - not a single one of them," Neil answered. "I mean, sometimes I wish they talked a bit less."

"Ah the toils... where was I? We got a bit distracted didn't we?" Lawrence remarked.

"Merlin's beard, we always do."

"The Son's of Walpurgis were after me. They were after all of us. Vacilius Nott - you remember him?"

"Our crazy cousin. Had a few unpleasant interactions here and there."

"He kept trying to recruit me. Actually, he vacillated between trying to recruit me and threatening to kill me, often over the telephone. Pure Blood supremacists are a confused bunch. Naturally, I was worried. Albus worked at the Auror department, so I relayed my concerns to him. I help him gather some useful intel on the identity of the members of the Sons of Walpurgis - a lot of them were surprisingly willing to reveal themselves - and in exchange, he informed me about any threats on the horizon. How useful, I could not tell. I felt safer. More importantly, I suppose it was some sort of psychological support. Of course, at the end of the day, there was still much we did not know."

"Even to this day," Neil added. "I- Go on, brother." He felt his head hurt, just a little. Must be the time difference weighing in.

"You know, sometimes you never suspect those that are close to you. Did I tell you that I was actually quite close with Vacilius when we were young? It was pre-Hogwarts for me after all, but we used to go on family vacations together. Then his father beat his mother to death and shipped him off to Durmstrang. It's strange, you know, I still remember enjoying all these tag games and sandcastle buildings sessions, but now when I look back at the times our families were together, it feels... tainted."

"Yes, well, I was probably too young to remember."

"You weren't even born."

"Definitely too young then."

"So that was how you and Albus set up correspondence? Did he help you in anyway other than information and moral support? I mean, the way you said it kind of -"

"Oh I helped him far more probably, but there was this assassin they tried to send after me that was intercepted and incarcerated by his team."

"Go on, I feel like I'm interrupting you - "

"The Sons of Walpurgis, first they were nothing, then they were everywhere and suddenly, they were nothing again. All their members captured, their leader killed, their resources confiscated - it all happened so fast. One moment I was worried sick about our safety and suddenly it was all okay."

"But do you know anything that happened that night? Do you still talk to Albus Potter?"

A pause. Lawrence was frowning, biting his lip, thinking hard.

"Neil... what I'm about to tell you..."

Neil waited for his next sentence.

"This I'm comfortable sharing with little Neil my brother, but not Neil the Auror. I would like you to sign the following document, then I'll talk," Lawrence uttered, staring closely at Neil. "If you do end up trying to arrest me..."

"Of course I won't! That escapade with Director Thunberg was an accident, I swear! He's been following and stalking my activities! I swear!"

"That's a bit of an over-exaggeration, even though I personally found the interrogation exceedingly unpleasant."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Lawrence's eyes scanned him, they narrowed a little and Neil pouted in response, ignoring the buzzing in his head, which was getting a little painful. "You don't trust me?"

"Trust you on what?"

"To not ... stab you in the back?"

"Oh I don't think you'd literally be able to penetr-"

"No I mean - I know I'm an Auror, but this doesn't change anything! This doesn't mean anything!" Neil was getting mildly frustrated. To think -

"Fine, you know, Neil, keeping these secrets to yourself sure is exhausting. My correspondence with Albus Potter has been limited. I - before he disappeared, he went to visit me here. We smoked pot under the skies and I had no idea what just happened. I tuned off the news because I didn't feel like following it. Then, when I finally caught up, it was too late, he was out of sight, out of mind. We sometimes wrote to each other though, I'll admit. I never believed he was some ascendant Dark Lord, that's just ridiculous. But it was mainly him asking a few questions about spells and potions and important locations. I never collaborated with him on any criminal act. That day, when I was at Hogsmede during Alumni Day, well, rather, after that, I cut ties with him completely. He wasn't resentful or anything. It was just quiet acknowledgement and understanding. I was the one that invited him there, so we could talk about this. "

"I'll believe you. But what was he doing there?"

"Who knows?"

A pause.

"I - it appears the information you relayed to me is not enough to warrant criminal charges," Neil remarked, sensing he had hit a dead end.

"Thank Merlin!"

"And even if it were... there are other cases of priority for me. This technically falls within the jurisdiction of MAGCUSA too. So, it's their call."

"Good to know."

"I ... I also wanted to ask you about the Sons of Walpurgis. How much do you know?"

"What do you want to know?

"Who led them?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange, along with Euphemia Rowle and a few others."

"What were they trying to do?"

"You know just as I do."

"Fine, what - do you know anything about Horcruxes?"

Lawrence flinched, but said nothing.

"I mean, my theory was that they were trying to make one and I'm trying to collect more information about them, so as to better understand the case."

"... They indeed were trying to. That was, after all, what Voldemort once did. And they're obsessed with emulating him."

"Right."

"But - my theory was that their leader was trying to make one."

Silence.

Something felt wrong about all of this. And his head was still buzzing. Sure, he had experienced jetlag and all the complications that came with traveling between time zones, but this felt peculiar. It was like his brain was trying to fend off a fly. As a fairly acclaimed Occlumens and a concerned Auror, he naturally constructed mind shields to prevent intrusions. That was how this felt like! An incursion. When your mind resists, it begins to hurt! But this was a skilled Legilimens, normally, it wouldn't have hurt this much - but Lawrence wasn't-

"What have you done to my brother?" Neil brandished out his wand at the man standing before him. "And stop trying to read my mind!"

"Took you long enough to figure out," came a smirk. Lawrence's brown eyes glinted green as his face slowly morphed into something morbidly familiar. It was one Neil had seen in all the Wanted Poster, old news articles and, well, in old photos his brother had during his Hogwarts days. The messy jet black hair was almost a dead ringer of Harry Potter, the Head Auror. "It's good to know my old man is still hale and hearty at the Aurors."

"Stop reading my mind, Albus Severus Potter! What have you done to Lawrence-"

"Relax, I intercepted your letter, changed it a bit - he's out on a date with his girlfriend. And he's not returning until 9," Albus said with a beam. "Do I look like a murderer or kidnapper to you?"

"Um, yes?" Neil realized he should probably feel afraid, but really, the only thing he could muster was infuriation.

"I only wanted to talk to you," Albus remarked, "Among many things, your brother may have - well - he never told me anything, but I read it all in his mind. I learnt from him that you were... working on a case about me."

"Yes and you are under arrest-"

His wand flew out of his hand.

"Relax Neil, I only wanted to explain things myself," Albus said as he caught Neil's wand and twirled it in his other hand long with his own. "Also, first rule as an Auror: fire first, then ask questions."

"That is a made up rule and technically not consistent with the rules of engagement-"

"Which do fuck all when you're faced with a runaway international criminal," Albus mused with a grin, "Don't worry though. I'm not really a runaway international-"

"Oh yes you are. And you know if I go missing - "

"Who said anything about you disappearing or going missing. If I wanted to kill you, I already would have done that."

"Thank you Albus, for not murdering me in my brother's office. Such generosity."

"Oh stop it. The Sons of Walpurgis were going to make a Horcrux and I stopped them, mainly by offing them one by one in methods that my father would have disagreed. Bless that man though. But the Aurors deemed that my actions warranted arrest, like there was anything else I could have done to stop a dark ritual. As for Hogsmeade, your brother called me in to basically cut ties and to fuck off forever, which I understood because I would have done the same thing. Then I broke into Hogwarts to check out their library and their potions cupboard - nothing of use came out of it though and I soon returned the books I borrowed. There. That's all the information that you need, Neil." Albus stared into him.

"Can you not do that?"

"Do what?"

"Read my mind?"

"Sorry, force of habit."

"You know I could just call MAGCUSA and my teammates -"

"Oh I don't think you'd want to, Neil. I don't want to add another pile of traumatized and obliterated Aurors to the list. Especially because I have no intention of harming you."

"So is that what you wanted to meet me for: to tell me that you stopped the Sons of Walpurgis by making a Horcrux, that my brother is innocent and you broke into Hogwarts that day for shits and giggles while someone pretended to be you that night and sneaked into the Department of Mysteries? Is that all?" Neil demanded.

Albus darkened at the mention of that. "I was the one that dumped him in front of your department, along with the stolen items."

"But not the scroll documenting Ministry secrets," Neil said.

"I burned it."

"What?"

"It contained information about Horcruxes - well, specifically what I just told you. No point in getting intellectual researchers of the future immersed in the pits of dark magic. Somethings are better left unknown."

"I see. I'm not sure I believe you-"

"You don't have to," Albus said nonchalantly.

"My head no longer hurts. Thanks for not trying to read my mind," Neil retorted.

"MacLaggen is not a bad guy," Albus remarked, "He's just very motivated and a little intense and hard on himself. Give him a chance on your team, at least."

"I said, don't read-"

"Oh picked that up way before. He used to have a thing with Cynthia, you know? They were always so close and intimate but never really got anywhere."

"On that I am left in the dark."

"She probably doesn't want you to know then. Which is fine. I understand people wanting to keep their emotional romantic lives a secret."

"Anything else? Can I get my wand back at least?"

"Of course not! I'll mail it over to you. It should arrive by tonight."

"What if I get ambushed and die?"

"During an apparition?"

Neil rolled his eyes.

"I'm not not messing with you, you know? On the contrary, I respect what you're trying to do. Setting yourself up straight, rectifying the murky history behind your family name by being its first member of the Aurors - quite opposite of what I managed," Albus said quietly.

"Your father still thinks highly of you," Neil finally managed to say after minutes of silence. "There's still a photo of you two on his office. I mean, sometimes he hides it when others are visiting but I caught him pulling it out of his drawer once."

It must have hit a nerve because Albus shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Whatever."

"Your sister misses you too -"

"No she doesn't, she thinks I'm a no-good criminal who broke my father's heart."

"That's not true, she was really distressed when she thought you were the one at the Department of Mysteries attacking us. She shut herself up in her room all day and only came out when we found out it was an imposter. Look, now I know what happened. I can't force you to do anything but think carefully about your family. Whether you like them or not, whether you love them or not - they haven't managed to let you go. Now I must leave, have a good day." Neil stood up and headed for the door.

"Not so fast," Albus cut in front of him. "You can't tell Cynthia. She's going to try and arrest me against and get traumatized all over again and -"

"I'll stop her from doing it - focus on another case. I - I won't tell anyone what happened today. Except for Lily, she needs to know" - Albus winced -" but no one else. I promise."

"A promise without the Unbreakable Vow is futile."

"You need three people to make it work."

"Doesn't matter. It's not as if Lily is the type to spill the beans. Tell her - tell her that no matter what happens, I would never harm her, or mom, or dad, or James, or anyone in the family. And tell her to stop being so hard on herself. Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter went way over the limit so I've decided to move a few planned things to next chapter, the first being Nigel at Hogwarts (I'm glad some like him!) and the Potter family.**


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